


Blood and Magic

by L0sts0uls



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood Adoption (Harry Potter), Death, F/F, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Heir of Hogwarts Founders, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Master of Death (Harry Potter), Minor Character Death, Necromancy, Other, Pureblood Politics (Harry Potter), The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Wrong Boy-Who-Lived (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:21:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 63,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29626944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L0sts0uls/pseuds/L0sts0uls
Summary: On Samhain night of 1981, the Potter Cottage was attacked by the Dark Lord Voldemort. Charlus and Dorea Potter died protecting their grandchildren, who seemed to have miraculously survived, leaving a young Henry James Potter with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Unnoticed by the adults, little Halley Lily Potter was also marked, hers right above her heart in the form of the rune ᛦ (Norse/Younger Futhark for "Yew"). Dumbledore saw the seemingly dark magic on the girl and proceeded to cut her off from Magical Britain, convincing the Potters that she had no magic and would be happier with the Dursleys. The Potters and all of Britain rejoiced at the apparent death of Voldermort, while a little girl's life would soon be turned into a living hell for 7 long years, until one night, when her world changes for the better.
Relationships: Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks, Charlus Potter/Dorea Black Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 121
Kudos: 392





	1. In the Dead of Night

**Author's Note:**

> What follows is a thank you to all the authors who have made this last year bearable. This is an AU, which means changes are likely intentional. Asume apperances match the movies or the books, unless I describe as otherwise. I am not an expert in Harry Potter or the lore, I am American and not British, no I am not looking for historical or canon accuracy. This is mainly for fun and to gauge interest. As of posting this I am at 21,500 words, writing on a tablet, with no beta or editor, nor am I looking for any currently. Don't expect a steady release schedule, my mental health isn't the best, I haven't written anything resembling in over 3 years and my free time is limited. Please be respectful in the comments. I may crosspost this eventually in FNN, or not. Please don't repost anywhere else. SFW Fan art of my story is welcome. 
> 
> As always I don't own Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the Property of JK Rowling.

Sabrina Prasinos was not having the best of Samhains. Ever since she moved to England in December of 1981, life had been a veritable roller coaster ride of highs and lows. Not that many of the local wixen even knew what a roller coaster was, with how utterly archaic British Wixen tended to be. "Backwards racist pigs" became a phrase she was often heard saying, usually when she was beyond earshot of anyone who would actually be offended by said words, though the fact she tended to curse in Greek tended to limit other's ability to figure out how really angry she was. She had moved to England as word of the local terrorist activity came to an end, though how the locals tended to call it a war really made her question why she decided to stay in the first place. She arrived safe in the knowledge that the locals would need every potions expert available to help with reconstruction. She brought her ICW credentials with her and applied to get the local certification and licensing to start selling potions in the magical community and helping out the locals. But things just couldn't go as planned, could they?

Just before she received her license as a potions mistress and authorization to run an apothecary either in Diagon Alley, any of it branching streets, or any other of the scattered wixen enclave in Britain, the bloody Wizengamot had to pass a legislation banning foreigners from running businesses in said areas, without having the backing of a Noble House or higher. The entire history of the Wizengamot and its houses only goes as far back as 1200 years, while her family, The Prasinos, are one of the oldest unbroken line of wixen in the history of Europe, stretching back to the city-states of Ancient Greece. Though sure, the name has changed with the evolution of the spoken and written word, but their blood has held magic longer than any of the so called "blood purists." As a foreigner she was initially unfamiliar with any of the members of the Wizengamot and while she did look up who was who, she wasn't going to put herself in a precarious position that could get her indebted to, or worse, forced to marry any of the less than "noble" members of society, no matter what their family's title says. Regardless, her initial plans were amended and instead of running a legitimate apothecary in any of the wixen only areas, Sabrina was now running a borderline, questionable "herbal medicine" shop in non-magical London, though the fact that wixen could come in and "acquire" potions was certainly never overtly broadcasted.

The shop was more than just her business, of course. It was home. A 3 floor, brick and mortar house, its color and size indistinguishable from the other half a dozen houses that were wall to wall against each other in the narrow slip of a street. Her shop, "Natural Herbs and Ointments'' (Sabrina blames her father for her less than perfect track record on naming...well...anything) took up half of the lowest floor, the other half being her lab and workstation in the back. The second floor was just your typical family room, dining room and kitchen packed as tightly together as possible, with the third and final floor being her bedroom, a guest room that acts more as a storage room, a laundry room and a bathroom, with just a sloped attic rounding out the place. Sure, she could spell her home to be bigger on the inside, but the fact that she tended to both magical and none magical clients (and the fact that the building, while heavily warded, is registered with the none magical government) meant she needed to be as careful as possible so as to not run a mock of the Statute of Secrecy. Her notice-me-not enchantments on the shop being the only thing keeping none magical eyes off of her more "exotic" wares.

Of course, if she were always careful, she wouldn't be walking the dark streets near her home on Samhain, of all the bloody nights. The area, while not as dangerous as the more rundown sections of London, was still quite...nerve wracking at night, especially with quite a few street lights needing replacing. She had had the distinct pleasure of playing midwife to a less than financially stable wixen couple and managed to safely deliver them their baby boy a few hours after sundown. Sabrina let out a deep sigh, her breath visible in the very cold night, letting the warming charm she hastily applied to her coat chase some of the cold away. Noting the thin layer of snow on the ground, an oddity this soon in the year and deep in the city, she changed directions, taking a more roundabout route home in order to be in the more well lit streets just before home. Her careful steps did little to stop her mind from returning to the happy couple and their little boy.

Sabrina knew she would never experience the horror yet absolute miracle that was childbirth. Her family, while long standing and blessed with many branches of healthy sons and daughters, also had a habit of producing sterile members. Unlike the racist pigs of Britain, the Prasinos almost never intermarried specific magical families, constantly mixing themselves all across Europe with those their members fell in love with. Unlike most Ancient Houses, and the Prasinos could call themselves The Most Ancient of Ancients if the Family Head ever grew too prideful, her Family never really held a single Ancestral Home. Sure, there are some really massive and old properties across all of Europe and North Africa, but the family itself was scattered throughout most of their lives, only having gatherings when changes were made to who was Head of Family, who would be Heir and a few when new members were added through marriage or birth, mostly both. Her own mother, Selene Prasinos, had jokingly called them the Roma of the magical community (though Sabrina had met some magical Roma and their reaction to said statement was...loaded, to say the least). Still, despite the fact that the family was genetically as diverse as possible on continental Europe, there were a few cases of sterility among its members, herself included. 

Sabrina gently runs her hand over her abdomen and sighs, thoughts of bronze haired, blue eyed children that would never be dredging up years worth of pain and loneliness as she approached a small park just a few blocks away from home. She looks across the street and smiles slightly, remembering her own childhood in West Germany, the snow covered ground and trees reminding her of many a Yule morning with her parents, both presently sharing a grave long before she ever crossed the English Channel. Her next step stilled as something caught her eye in the park. In a few quick movements she crossed the street and looked closer, her heart all but frozen in terror. There in the park, on a field of fresh snow was a small body, its hair as black as fresh ink, its clothes tattered and ripped. What made her dash across the park and straight to the body, faster than she thought herself possible, even with the aid of magic, wasn't the state of the clothes or the odd hour of night, but what she saw pooling into the ground around it. There, in one of the innumerable parks doting the city of London, a child's body laid still on the ground, the snow around it stained crimson with its blood.

-ᛦ-

Sabrina smashed her shop's door open after unlocking it with her wand, her control over the wards being the only reason the door closes itself behind her as she cradles the body of a little girl against her chest. She did everything she could with her wand at the park, stabilizing the girl's life before rushing her home and the aid of her potions. She delved deep into her Occlumency, desperate to bury her emotions while she did everything to save the little girl's life. Her healer's diagnostic spell had shown her a glimpse of every mother's deepest nightmare; a body rife with scars new and old, an unholy number of broken and poorly healed bones, severe malnutrition and internal bleeding, including deep vaginal and anal tearing. Had the girl been a normal child she would have long since been dead. Even as she ran across her lab, picking and gathering every potion she needed to save her life, she could feel the girls magic. It felt feral, wild and desperate. Instinctually her magic was doing its best to keep her alive, even with the girl's mind being inactive. Sabrina wasn't sure if the girl being unconscious was a good thing or not. She hoped the girl wouldn't freak out as soon as she woke. She had seen and read enough descriptions about the damage an Obscurial could do and she desperately hoped that the girl would be spared such a fate.

The next few hours became a blur in Sabrina's mind as she finished her last bout of dry heaving. Hours of diagnostic and healing spells, countless potions that she had to carefully select and feed the unconscious girl in the correct order, lest she ended up poisoning her. She washes her face safe in the knowledge that the girl would live. Though in what state her mind would be was another question. She thought about taking her to St. Mungos but quickly dismissed it. When she saw the girl was magical, she did what any healer worth their salt should do (not that she had a healers license in Britain, only back in West Germany, and running the shop for almost seven years wasn't the best way to study to update it again) and ran magical trace spells. What she found made any thought of taking her to any official magical healers mute. Traces of parasitic magic in what appeared to be a cursed scar on her chest, an uneven and tattered magical core that suggests someone tried to strip her of her magic and failed, traces of monitoring spells tied to her blood. Someone magical had gone through a lot of trouble to keep the girl away from magic and had clearly known she was living in danger for her life but did nothing. How all the foreign elements of magic were purged out of the girl was a mystery she was happy to leave alone, the traces on the cursed scar alone were enough to make her feel ill. Now all she needed to do was figure ou-

The sound of a whimper and some breaking vials snap Sabrina's attention back to the little girl as she opens the washroom door tied to her lab. Her eyes take in the room until she spots the little girl underneath her desk, her side facing out, hands loose, ready to cover any attempts at hurting her. Sabrina's heart broke further at the obvious signs of abuse. She did her best to bury any signs of anger, she couldn't add more fear to her. "It's ok, I am not going to hurt you little one. You have nothing to be scared of here", Sabrina finally managed to say as calm and gentle as she could. 

The girls eyes, a very vivid shade of green, looked straight at Sabrina's eyes, clearly looking for any sign of deceit. The eyes then turned to look at something away from Sabrina and she herself turned to see what was bothering the girl. She sees the broken glass on the floor and understands. She turns back to the girl and smiles, "nothing to worry about. I can clean it up right quick. You mind?" The last words she says as she pulls out her wand, making extra sure to keep it pointed away from her and as non threatening as possible. The girl looks at the wand, concern written on her face as well as curiosity. As Sabrina guessed, this was the first wand the girl has ever seen. With a gentle flick, Sabrina silently vanishes the broken vials on the floor. 

The little girl's eyes are full of wonder, though the fear remains. Sabrina smiles at her, "See, all gone." She puts the wand away, so as not to make the girl any more worried. "You can come out now. There are no bad people here and I promise, I won't hurt, yell or punish you for anything you have or haven't done." Sabrina can see the girl's eyes studying her again. She could see that the girl wanted to believe her, but her fear of whatever those monsters did to her kept her from accepting. Sabrina runs through her mind what she knows about how to show care and affection but most are physical contact, which this girl has likely never known and would probably respond badly to. Maybe…

Sabrina stretches out with her magic, keeping it as warm and gentle as possible. She sees when the girl feels it as it touches her and her own magic. At first the girls magic seems to coil inwards, seeking to keep itself, and the girl, safe. But as more time passes and Sabrina's magic remains pleasant and comforting, both the girl's magic and the girl herself seem to open up, as two bright green eyes, now clearly filled with the presence of magic look into a pair of equally bright blue eyes. Sabrina keeps her voice gentle, letting her magic act through it as well making her feelings clear to the girl, letting her feel the truth through the magic. "I promise, you are safe here with me, no one will hurt you." 

The seconds turn to minutes as Sabrina waits, keeping her magic wrapped gently though loosely around the girl. Then, something breaks the silence. Something that all but melts Sabrina's heart. "Promise?" Softly spoken, as if she hasn't spoken in a very long time, but filled with equal parts hope and resignation. Sabrina looks at the girl deep in the eyes, "Promise." The next thing Sabrina knows is that a tiny body launched itself at her, her arms hugging the little girl back as the child cries herself hoarse on her shoulder. From that moment on Sabrina knew that her once impossible dream was now all too real. She had a daughter. Their magic wrapped around each other and came to the same conclusion, binding the two lives together. The child was hers now and Sabrina would do everything in her power to give her a better life. Sabrina began searching through her memories for everything her own mother had done for her when she was young, storing her version of "The Talk" away for much, much later, as she carried the little girl up the stairs towards her bedroom. The guest bedroom is going to need a thorough cleaning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I am neither a sadist nor the type to enjoy cliffhangers. I could have ended the chapter before the scene break. I didn't. You are welcome. And it should be said I dont condone violence or abuse against children, ever.


	2. Getting Aquainted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Chapter 1 is a bit short, I decided to post Chapter 2. Also, I realize I forgot to mention that my version of a female Harry Potter would not be keeping her birth name. Lastly, I hope you all like this chapter. I am going to go with a policy of show, not tell. I tend to go heavy in world building so this is my attempt to fight my habit. Yes, there is some "tell" in the chapter, but there wont be any massive info dumps. You will learn about what everything means as the information becomes relevant. Perfect example; I won't be touching about how the girl got to the one park she would be found by Sabrina. It will become clear much, much later, but it wasn't accidental.

The next few weeks proved to be a stressful time for Sabrina and the little girl. Getting her home to be more child friendly wasn't too hard. Magic is a procrastinator's best friend, with the guest bedroom cleared of everything except for the bed, cabinets, a set of shelves, desk and a chair. Clothes were a bit more complicated, since transfigured clothing didn't last long and was never as comfortable as a well made set. Which meant shopping. The tug of war between potentially letting a girl stay home alone and going through a number of reasons to suffer an anxiety attack without adult supervision or Sabrina bringing her along to get clothes that fit her well and that she liked, while having entirely new reasons to panic over being surrounded by strangers. Eventually Sabrina's mothering instincts won out and the two both got clothes, bed sheets and other things she would need. That day the confundus charm became Sabrina's most practiced spell, if only to keep people's eyes from looking at the girl too closely.

The next big hurdle came with the continued treatment of the young girl. Erasing the scars would only be a matter of time, as all but the cursed one, which seemed to have healed over but refuses to fade away, would only need a bit of ointment application over time. Said instances actually seemed to help the new mother and daughter get over the latter's issues with physical contact, as she would soon stop flinching away from her touch and eventually looking forward to it from her mother. Fixing her bones, however, proved to be a more...involved affair for both, as she had to spend a bit of time explaining what she needed to do and what the girl should expect. Eventually the little girl would spend a few nights stunned (via a medical variant, as Sabrina felt ill even contemplating using the stupefy spell on her daughter), the first few nights tested Sabrina's nerves and the girls faith in her new mother as the pain of regrowing bones was still there, stunned or otherwise. The girl's malnutrition would prove to be the hardest to counter, even with potions. Building her body back up to what a girl of 8 years of age should be was going to take a lot of exercise (the park where the two met would become their favorite place for short jogs), an exceedingly precise diet that neither were too good at following to the letter (blueberry and cherry pastries quickly became a favorite of both) and a lot of nutrition potions that were horribly expensive, even as ingredients alone. 

Breaking the girl's habits was equally as challenging. The very first morning after the girl was feeling better, Sabrina woke up and found her in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. What followed was the first debate between mother and daughter, with the end result being that the two would share the chores of the house, with neither doing any of them entirely on their own. Getting her to be less panicked around sudden loud noises proved to be difficult, as Sabrina didn't want to impede her daughter's sense of awareness by desensitizing her to sudden sound changes. While Sabrina didn't want to make her daughter paranoid, she absolutely refused to let her be vulnerable to the same type of people who made her suffer. It wasn't paranoia, she mused to herself, if there were actually people out for her daughter.

Lastly, Sabrina had to deal with the girl's past and not only gain legal custody of her, but also giving her a name. While everyone can say that Sabrina cheated, she herself refuses to concede that using Legilimency to learn about her daughter's past, while avoiding traumatizing the girl over having to relive her torture is, in anyway, an improper use of said magic. She made sure she was gentle, and did her best to dull the emotional feedback from the viewing of the memories, proving to be an effective solution as the little girl was barely affected by her first experience with mind magics, while Sabrina only had to delve into a dozen occlumency exercises to refrain from dedicating herself into studying Necromancy, lack of affinity be damned, so that she could raise the monsters back from the dead and kill them over and over again. Not that there were nights when the thought kept clawing back into her head again, especially when said nights were with an eight year old wraped in her arms as she tried to calm her down from one of her many repeating nightmares. For the first month, the little one could easily be found more in her mother's bed than her own, the sound of multiple lullabies in Greek or English became a staple of said nights.

-ᛦ-

Sabrina drank down her second cup of coffee as she looked on as her daughter finished the last of her blueberry pancakes. Last night she had looked through her daughter's memories and seen how depraved a family of humans can possibly be, no matter how mundane they can appear. It did give her something to work with towards finding the girl's name. Though it also made it clear why she reacted so poorly when she called her "Girl" that one time. The name she was born with, however, would probably be just as bad to use, if it was even her real name. She reached out towards the little girl and touched her hand gently. She was happy that she no longer flinched at her touch, but she was still tense from it. "I know that it's a bit early to deal with some heavy stuff, but I want to resolve the matter of your name. Especially before we go through with registering you as my daughter. You ok to talk about this?"

The girl looked at her mother and nodded, too scared to speak. Sabrina noticed this and slowly pulled the girl into a hug, her hand gently rubbing the girl's back, as the tension left her body. Sabrina summons a page of parchment and a potion vial. She put the vial in the girl's hand. "This is a potion used to identify a person's name, parentage and family magicks. I know we haven't covered much about magic this last week, but one of the important things about magic is that names have a magical aspect to them. Giving someone your full name is a sign of great trust, while calling someone by a name they have discarded is a grave insult. While one can magically change their names, it is still possible to find someone's parentage through their blood, though a blood adoption can erase any such traces if done correctly. I want to ask if you're willing to do the test so we know what your full name is so that, if you ever choose to do so, you can decide whether to change it magically or eventually through blood adoption. What do you say?"

The girl looks at the vial in her hand and back at her mom's blue eyes, they seem to be full of kindness and warmth, which make her feel happy inside. She smiles and nods, a soft "kay'' slips out of her lips. Sabrina nods and kisses her on her head. She then describes how the potion works and that it does need a bit of her blood. A ritual needle that she keeps for certain potions and other magics is used and while the girl feels the prick, she finds her mothers warmth against her back more important than that small bit of pain. Her mom drips the blood into the potion vile and then proceeds to shake it, before she takes a small brush, dips it into the potion and uses it as ink. After writing a few words in Greek with the brush, the magic of the potion begins to spread, as more of the parchment is filled in.

αίμα, πες το όνομά σου

(Blood, tell your name)

Name: Halley Lily Evans-[disowned]

Born: July 31st 1980

Father: [disowned]

Mother: Lily Evans-[disowned] (bond dissolved by Magic)

Mother: Sabrina Selene Prasinos (bond accepted by Magic)

Sibling: [bond severed]

Family Magicks:

Peverell

Ravenclaw

Black

[Disowned]

The little girl looked up at her mother, who wore a frown on her face and asked, "what does it all mean?" The mother rubbed her face with her hand, sighed and turned to her daughter. "It means that your biological father went through the trouble of disowning you from the family, hence his name being absent and his family name removed from your name and _hers_ (there was no hiding the venom in her voice when referring to the woman who abandoned a child to hell on earth). Regardless, what really matters is if you'd like to keep your name or if you'd prefer to change it via magic. Eventually we can do a blood adoption, but it would be better if we had a guy do it with us to erase any trace of your birth parents, so we can preempt any attempts to reclaim you."

She looked at her mom and smiled, a little mischief poking out, "Does that mean I will be getting a Dad?" Her mothers face at her comment made her laugh, her heart growing warm at the sight of her mother's smile. "If I can manage it then yes, one day you will have a dad too. Now, about your name?"

The little girl pouts, "I don't want to keep it. They didn't care to keep me or check up on me, so I don't feel like it. Besides, you're my mother now and I don't want to forget that. Ever." The little girl felt herself getting gently squeezed in one of her mothers hugs. She was really starting to like those hugs. Her mother hummed against her, the sound always melting away any tension in the girl. "Like I said, names have magic and it's best to have a name you can shorten or alter as a way of introducing yourself to others, while keeping your full name to family and the most trusted. So any preferences?" 

She thinks for a moment, "I don't think I will mind you picking, as long as it's not related to a flower." She relaxes into her mothers embrace. Sabrina thinks out loud, "I could name you after a famous witch. My father named me after a fictional witch from a comic series in America. My mom wasn't amused until she learned that my name was tied to that of a river and since my mom grew up on said river, she eventually agreed." The girl thinks, shakes her head. "Please no." Sabrina smiles and kisses the girl on her head, "Ok, ok, no funny stuff and no flowers." Sabrina hums for a second. "I don't know much about the Ravenclaw family, and the Peverells are much a mystery now as they were when around, the Blacks, however, are known for using the name of celestial bodies for their given names." 

Mother and daughter spend a few minutes in silence, thinking about names and their meanings, until Sabrina breaks the silence. "How about Rhea, short for Rheannon. It's a name with a magical background and its short form matches the Blacks habit of names, as I am pretty sure it's the name of one the moons of Saturn." The girl spends a few moments feeling out the name, saying both under her breath. Finally she squeezes her mother's arms, which are still wrapped around her. "I like it." A few minutes later, after Sabrina gives her daughter a few instructions and lends her her wand, Rheannon "Rhea" Prasinos begins her new life. 

-ᛦ-

Sabrina was many things; impulsive, vicious when provoked and stubborn to a fault. However, she didn't earn her Potions Mastery and her ICW healers license at a young age for nothing. She wasn't stupid. There is a certain Lily Evans in the British Magical Community, who is married to a man who would certainly be capable of disowning a child from his "Noble" family. The fact that Rhea's birthday matches that of their son, one Henry Potter, dubbed by the political rag that is the Daily Prophet as the Boy Who Lived, and that Rhea's original Blood identification test mentioned that a sibling bond had once existed but was severed, meant that she couldn't use either legal magical or mundane means of getting legal guardianship over Rhea. That meant no Health Services, no school and no paper trail. As a Magical in non-magical London, that wasn't the most difficult of things to do. It just meant that Rhea would miss out on a lot of what made up a childhood. Though to be fair, the last 7 years of her life weren't that much of a childhood either. Rhea was surprisingly ok with not going to school, though she agreed to being homeschooled in both magical and non-magical education. 

Rhea was, as far as Sabrina was concerned, a very capable learner. She studied diligently, asked why things were as established and went through the process of testing things out and learning by experience. Most of it was in mathematics and basic sciences, but she did read a few history texts that made for some disturbingly mature discussions, though Rhea's smile and laugh whenever Sabrina got decidedly crass with her language, which she always made sure to highlight that she should never repeat in "polite" company, though the warning always came after said language lessons (her parents would be both turning and laughing in their graves at their daughter's antics.) She even started helping out with her on the creation of both herbal medicines and potions, with only a single melted cauldron in her record prior to advanced Potions (melting a cauldron while experimenting is a right of passage as far as Sabrina is concerned). So of course, after a few months of the two living together, 2 inevitable things came to pass.

The first was Rhea's first Yule celebration. Sabrina refused to deny Rhea's heritage and made sure she knew the differences between Yule and Christmas and why it's important to celebrate them seperate, from Yules cleansing effects among participants, to its place of importance in Magical society, as well as Christmas' place in non-magical society. Sure, Sabrina would have to be physically dragged into a Yule Ball, but that didn't mean she didn't know that this was a time for the "elite" to socialize and build alliances. She specifically stressed how Christmas has become a celebration followed by Light Families (like a certain one that will remain unnamed), with many abandoning Yule rituals entirely. Yule, on the other hand, is practiced by both Neutral Families as well as Dark Families, with full focus given to the rituals and how these connect the family together. The giving of presents, however, was embraced by all wixen.

Sabrina smiled at her daughter as Rhea gently opened the presents, revealing a good mix of items, few in number but, in standard Prasinos fashion, full of intent and sentimental value. Her presents consisted of a bracelet that perfectly replicated the moon's cycle that had belonged to Sabrina's mother (perfect for lunar based rituals), three books, each one about the Families that she saw on the blood test's Family Magicks section, a Runes Carving Set since she had shown an impressive proficiency in Runes and finally a stuffed animal. Sabrina had noticed that Rhea would stop and look at a specific stuffed animal at a corner children's shop, but she would always shake her head and ignore it. Sabrina knew that Rhea didn't want to seem too childish by asking for a toy. So, Sabrina made sure to order it and retrieve it quickly.

Sabrina had a smug smile on her face when she heard Rhea's very childlike squeal and saw the absolute joy in her eyes as she held the stuffed toy, a pitch black dog with gold eyes, its teeth a pale white and its tongue a deep red. Rhea pulled the dog to her into a fierce hug, before lunging at her mom and hugging her as well. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Sabrina laughed and hugged her daughter back warmly. "You are 8 years old, so no you don't need to feel bad if you want to buy a toy. And as everyone who goes to amusement parks and town fairs can attest, you are never too old for a stuffed animal either." Sabrina pulled back and saw a gentle blush on her little girl, as she kept hugging the blag dog. "You got a name for it?"

Rhea took a few moments before she looked down and gently rubbed the dog down its back, "I was thinking of calling him Padfoot."

-ᛦ-

  
  


The second eventuality was that Rhea wanted to learn magic. While at 8 years old Rhea couldn't exactly buy a wand at Olivanders, or any of the other legal shops in Britain, but she could study it at home, with some practice using Sabrina's wand. After getting her a blank wand, so that she could practice wand movements, Sabrina finally decided that New Years Eve was the best time to get Rhea to take a certain Prasinos family test. She led Rhea back into her work shop, where she had cleared the area, a large runic circle marked on the floor with chalk and certain bronze dishes containing a variety of magical materials within. 

"This is known to our family as our Ritual of Affinity. Every magical is born with one or more affinities, be they to specific elements or even whole branches of magic. Every child born to the Prasinos family is tested on their seventh birthday, but New Years Eve works just as well as a promise to learn and grow in these fields of magic. You ready?"

Rhea nods and steps into the circle and before the raised pillar, where a bronze bowl sits, empty. Rhea takes the ritual needle and gently jabs her palm. She holds her hand over the bowl and closes her fist, blood drops trickling into the bowl. With each drop that touches the bowl, one of each of the satellite bowls with their materials catches a light, until all seven bowls are a blaze, each with a flame of a different color; red, blue, gray, green, brown, white and black. Rhea opens her hand and uses the back of the ritual needle to heal the puncture, making sure all excess blood remains in the bowl, before using a cleansing cloth to remove the blood from her hand. Eventually the Ritual concludes, the 7 satellite bowls empty and flameless, the runic circles lines losing their indigo glow as they fade back into their dule chalk outlines.

Sabrina steps forward and gently hugs Rhea with one arm as they peer into the raised bowl. Inside lie three ritual items. Rhea turns to her mom, "So, what do they mean?" Rhea notices that her Mom's face doesn't register that she heard her and repeats a little louder, her hand squeezing hard on her mom's hand that rests on Rhea's waist. "Mom?"

Sabrina shakes her head, as if waking up from a dream. "Sorry Rhea, my mind just wandered away. There are three items, so three affinites, though this doesn't mean you can't use other magic, just that these will come easily to you and require less effort and energy to maintain." She points at an object that looks like an eye made of shiny dirt. "That is golem's clay, meaning you will have an affinity for Earth Magic, with some bleedover into possibly plant magic and magical creatures, if you work hard for them." She turns to a reddish crystal spiked ball, "That is a crystalized mixture of animal, human and creature blood, meaning you have an affinity towards Blood Magic, which again bleeds over into magical creatures and uniquely healing. You should be better able to tell when something is wrong with someone else. Should mention that Blood Magic is frowned upon by the British Ministry of Magic and considered illegal, though the ICW disagrees. I personally share an affinity for Blood Magic, though I also have another for Plant Magic"

Rhea nods, "Cool. Sucks about the Blood Magic ban, though." Sabrina gives her a smirk, which Rhea replies with a light punch on the shoulder. "What about the third one?" Sabrina sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "That is the bone of a Thestral, meaning an affinity to a very exclusive form of magic. Unlike the rest, this one needs affinity as a requirement to practice it and learn it accordingly." Sabrina takes a moment and looks at Rhea in the eyes. "You have an affinity for Death Magic."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rheannon's name is both by design, with the short form of Rhea being the point as to allude to her future family, and a slight homage. As a hint Rheannon/Rhiannon tends to refer to a mythical queen. A big thank you to SilentlyWatches of FFN for the awesome read. And for those who read the hinted at series, no I am not going to match the tone or nature of their work. This piece will focus more on healthy healing and less violence and gore. 
> 
> If you decide to keep reading, well, next chapter will feature a certain dog animagus. Hope you all look forward to it.


	3. What the Dog dragged in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter. The Muse has been merciful and I decided to share.

"The Wizengamot herby finds Sirius Orion Black innocent of the thriteen counts of murder, including that of Peter Pettigrew, recently found to be alive. A date will be set later to discuss reparations for the 8 1/2 years worth of unlawful imprisonment with the Black Family Solicitor, though your status as an unregistered animagus will be counted against a full restitution, though I am sure the Wizengamot will be more than happy to help pay for your full recovery. This extraordinary session of the Wizengamot on the 3rd of August is hereby concluded." The loud banging of the gavel ends Director Amelia Bones' reading of the court's conclusion. While at any other moment in his life, Sirius would have been hitting on the still quite attractive Regent of the House of Bones, only a single thought keeps repeating in his head, drowning all others. "I am free. Free!"

The Aurors quickly escort him out of the courtroom, taking him to one of the many waiting areas adjoining the main chamber. The moment he opens the door, he finds himself the recipient of a decently painful hug, courtesy of a certain werewolf. "I am so sorry I doubted you Sirius! We were all so exhausted after Halloween and when we heard what happened, we thought that the Black Madness had finally caught up to you!" 

For a moment Sirius felt very irritated with the scruffy werewolf, but decided to bury the feeling for now. He was free of Azkaban and the Dementors, he really didn't want to get into a fight at the moment. "It's fine Remus, we were all a bit loopy those last few days." Sirius then looks around the room and spots his brother in all but blood (second cousins sure, but James had always been a brother to him. "Prongs!"

James Potter's response to Sirius is a softer hug. "Happy to see you too, Padfoot. Lily is wondering when you would like to visit. Wormtail getting caught in our wards during the kids birthday sorta spoiled the mood and Alice wants to get the kids settled after the shock." Sirius takes a moment to think and says,"I would love to come over soon and see Lily and the kids. How is my little goddaughter doing, she a bookworm like Lily or is she and Henry the new generation of Marauders?" Sirius planned to go further, joking about how they would finally make Minnie's hair go completely white, but James' reaction caught him off guard. The moment Sirius mentioned Halley, James tensed up into the hug. Sirius pulls away, feeling a new dredge cut deep into his heart. "James?"

"Sirius, there is a lot that happened that you-" James response was cut off by a very loud Sirius. Maybe there was something to the Black Madness, since his mind had shut out every other thought. "WHAT HAPPENED? Where is my goddaughter?" Something James saw on Sirius' face made any thoughts of delaying the inevitable just vanish. He sighed. "Something happened that night on Halloween. Dumbledore thinks that Voldermort wanted to steal Henry and Halley's magic before killing them. He...succeeded with Halley, but failed with Henry and then vanished. You saw how the cottage looked that night. Dumbledore checked Halley over and said there was nothing we could do. She lost her magic." 

Sirius listened to him, but refused to believe it. He remembers his little pup, her magic was strong and controlled, more mature than Henry's, there was no way she could have lost it all. She loved to change his hair into some of the most awful colors when he got stuck with babysitting duty. He never missed a single day. "So what if she's without magic? You wouldn't be the first family to raise a squib. So tell me...tell me why I feel that she isn't home with Lily and her twin?!"

Remus cuts in, trying to keep Sirius away from James, fearing that the recent resident of Azkaban might decide to come to blows with his best friend. "Sirius, the war was still going on, Death Eater raids were crazy. Your cousin and the Lestranges went after the Longbottoms and managed to kill Frank. If James and I hadn't been there, who knows what would have happened to Neville and Alicia." James took over from there. "Halley wasn't safe at home and she wasn't going to be able to keep up with the other kids. We thought it best she was raised by muggles. She's living with some relatives and we're sure she is perfectly fine."

Sirius stared into James' eyes and his heart broke. He believed. He fucking believed his pup was better away from her family. He...this wasn't the brother he left behind. He doesn't know what happened but James would never have done this. Did he forget what Dorea kept stressing over and over, the one family motto of the Blacks he actually agreed with. How could James fail at putting Family First. Sirius sighed and felt that those 9 years in Azkaban felt more like 20. "I...tell Lily I need to take some time to myself. I can only imagine the mess my dear mother left of the Black accounts and…I need to take care of a few pressing matters, my health especially."

James and Remus looked relieved, having expected to get into a far more heated argument. Eventually, James spoke yp, a soft smile on his face, "Take your time Pads, we aren't going anywhere." Sirius looked at the man he had but a moment before called a brother and smiled gently. His dear mother would be proud of how sincere he made it look. "See you around, James." Sirius did his best to leave the Ministry in as a controlled and dignified way as possible. He wasn't going to find his little pup, left behind by her family like some discarded trash, by being a bloody Gryfindor. This time he would follow the Sorting Hat's advice to be the bloody Slytherin he was born to be. Halley was all that mattered. His pride as a Lion be damned.

-ᛦ-

The next two weeks were exhausting for the newly appointed Lord Black. Finding out his Grandfather, good ol Artucus Black had kept him as his designated Heir had been a happy surprise. He still didn't have the nerve to go to Black Castle and talk to his portrait, though he knew that it was probably going to be a better conversation than the one had at Grimmauld Place with his mother. His ears were still ringing and his voice was rough two days later. At least he got the proof he needed. In the family tapestry, under both Dorea's and James' marks (the latter now nothing more than a black patch of tapestry) were two marks. Henry's was exactly as he remembered, though the boy in the picture looked exactly his age. Halley's, however, was a pleasant surprise. When a squib is born into the Family the Tapestry knows and the edges of the picture become wilted. Where once was Halley's portrait was a perfectly healthy frame of a person in shadow, the edges showing leaves in full bloom. Even the name was missing. Wherever Halley was right now, she was alive, protected and with magic of her own. "Kreacher!"

A muttering old house elf popped into existence right in front him. " What can Kreacher do for the mut Lord Black?" Sirius sighed at the old elf and decided to ignore the slight. It was the least insulting response in two weeks, though he spent his first week meeting up with his favorite cousin Andromeda, her husband and now his solicitor Ted Tonks, and the Goblins. They discussed everything they had to cover, from fixing the Black Family investments (no more Black gold would go to Death Eaters, especially those who claimed to have been Imperioused), bringing the Tonks into the family fully (Andromeda had been overjoyed and Ted had been very amused) and sorting out what to do with most Black Properties (stasis for now). Lastly he talked about retrieving his missing Heiress, getting the issue covered under family magic to prevent the Potters from hearing about it. Andromeda cheekily said it was about time he embraced his inner snake. 

"Kreacher, as elf to the house of Black you are connected to all those of the Black blood. From this moment onwards I, Lord of House Black, forbid you from answering the calls of Bellatrix Lestrange née Black, Narcissa Malfoy née Black, Draco Malfoy, James Potter and Henry Potter. You are to alert me if any of them call out to you. Now, for the main reason I called you here. As the family elf, do you sense a bond to a little girl, the one who sits here, on the family tree?" Sirius finished, feeling more like his father in the last few minutes than in the whole of his life, as he pointed at the shadowed image. The Elf looked between Sirius and the Tapestry, before answering, "Yes, Kreacher feels a bond to a child of Black."

Sirius looked at the elf and sighed, hoping the next bit would make him more agreeable. "Kreacher, said Child of Black is my Heiress and thanks to Azkaban, the future Lady Black. She is currently missing, hidden by unknown magicals. If I am to fulfill my duties to the House and Family, she must be taught how to be a Black. So please, can you locate your future Lady?"

Kreacher stared at Sirius, his face clearly surprised, his blooming smile being the sign that Sirius' words may have worked too well. "New Mistress. Kreacher would be happy to care for the future Lady Black!" His face scrunches in concentration, Sirius committing it to memory since he had never seen the like on the old bats face. Finally, Kreacher shakes his head, his voice heavy with sadness. "Heiress Black behind heavy wards, even Elf repelling wards. Kreacher cannot reach Child of Black. Kreacher has failed Lord Black." The elf looked around, clearly looking for a means to punish himself. "Wait, Kreacher."

The elf stopped and Sirius continued. "Can you take me to the closest place, outside the wards. I can do the rest to get my goddaughter home. Just make sure we are beyond any detection wards and out view of people, magical or otherwise." The elf looked at Sirius and smiled, a new memory Sirius would preserve for later. "Mutt Lord Black is cunning, Mistress would be proud. Kreacher can take him close to the Child of Black." Sirius pulled out his new wand, but kept it hidden in his sleeve. Good thing he wore a decidedly muggle attire, though a bit more classy than a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. He would look formal out amongst muggles, but not out of place. "Lead on," were Sirius' last words as he vanished into a pop of Apparition.

-ᛦ-

Sirius found himself on a dark street in the middle of muggle London. He settled himself and began to walk forward. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, the brick and mortar houses around him bathed in a deep orange light. He moved along the streets, looking for any signs of magic, careful not to trip on any wards along the way. In a few of the houses he felt the brush of wards, but these felt weak, most anchored to an apartment. Too weak to hide his goddaughter from him and Kreacher. He meandered through several streets, getting scattered traces of magic, but none were what he was looking for. The sun had already set and he was preparing to call Kreacher in order to pick up the search after sunrise tomorrow when he spotted a peculiar shop. 

The sign read "Natural Herbs and Ointments'', its green neon light illuminating the first floor landing of the three floored, brick and mortar building. As he approached the place, he thought best to just move on until he spotted a very specific emblem. It's Ministry policy that all apothecaries, healer clinics and other businesses, carry specific symbols on the front of the biilding, making them easy to identify for any Wixen out and about. While the shop didn't have any of the "recognized" emblems, that didn't mean that he was unaware of what this one meant. During the war, many muggleborn and half bloods hid their business in plain sight, just hidden from magical eyes. The cup of Aescelpos was less common than the double snakes and staff, but the version with the snake looking at a bird sitting on the cup was something that the muggleborns came up with as a way to conceal their presence. As he approached the front door, he felt his hairs stand on end. The wards here were like nothing he had ever felt before. He could almost feel a presence in them, judging his intent. Apparently satisfied, the presence passed on, but the weight of the wards fealt ever present as he walked up the steps and opened the front door.

The shop was both neat and tidy, yet warm and inviting. The electric lights were a soft and warm color, lines upon lines of jars full of leaves, powders and mushrooms filled the walls. His observation of the shop was momentarily interrupted by a gentle and femenine voice calling out, "be there in a minute! Just don't break anything!" Sirius bit back a sigh, the voice having stirred his old playwizard instincts. 9 years was a long time without female company, and the way that voice made him feel was a bad sign. He needed to get his mind out of the gutter. He was here for his goddaughter, not for getting his libido satisfied. He turned back to the racks of materials and knew he was at a witch's shop, between the jars of powders and plants were what appeared to be glass covered advertisements, but he could feel and ignore the weak notice-me-not charms and spot real apothecary grade materials. He even saw a bit of wolfsbane with a mention on providing the potion on a monthly basis for those in need. 

The shop made him smile. Places like this were the Order's saving grace back in the day. No one asked what happened, only what they needed. Almost always no names were shared, no oaths taken. Hell, a few of them worked as makeshift clinics, saving the lives of some of his friends, Mad-Eye specifically owed his life to one shop like this. Sirius wonders if they are still there and if Mad-Eye still visits. He'd have to find the old fossil and ask. He kept looking around and was surprised to see some simple rune stones. While Transfiguration had been his best subject at Hogwarts, runes was a close second. The markings on the stones were easy enough to read and the experiences across the area now made sense. These were for warding, cheap, weak and inexpensive, but likely to save a witch or wizard's life with the benefit of an early warning that something was wrong.

"Welcome to "Natural Herbs and Ointments," what can we get you?" Sirius was about to reply but his mouth just decided to hang open, all other conscious thought ceased. The woman in front of him was beautiful. Scratch that, he can't even remember someone as beautiful and he had the pleasure of meeting, only meeting, veela. The woman's hair as a breathtaking bronze, her skin pale but with a definitive Mediterrenean tone. Her clothes, clearly muggle, seemed to delight in showing every curve of her body, a clearly fit and lean body. It was when his eyes finally returned to her face that his brain decided to work again. He could spend the rest of life looking unto her sapphire blue eyes, if only said eyes weren't glowing and filled with clear irritation. Sirius' … evidence of physical arousal went down faster than under a cold shower.

Her voice, once pleasant to the ear, now carried a very clear warning tone, "Anything I can help you with, _sir_?" Sirius winced, coughing into his hand, "Apologies, my lady. Didn't mean to be a bother. I recently got out of a less than hospitable living arrangement and was wondering if you have some nutrition potions, and maybe some Dreamless Sleep?" Sirius brain experienced some whiplash as the bothered tone from earlier vanished, replaced by a bedside manner that would put Pompfrey to shame. "Nutrition potions have been a pain to make lately, the prices remaining high for ingredients. If you're willing to pay a higher than usual upfront cost, it shouldn't be an issue. How long were you under the effects of malnutrition?"

Sirius looked on as she pulled up a notepad and pen and began writing something down. "Uhm, I suppose it's been more than 8 years. I think Halloween would make 9." Sirius noticed the woman tense when he mentioned Halloween. She kept her voice steady but was clear she was on edge, his own fingers rubbing his wand, his old Auror training beginning to kick in. "That Dreamless Sleep is easy enough, but if it's something chronic, it won't help. It is notoriously addictive and you build up an immunity. You'll end up taking enough to need a trip to St. Mungos."

Sirius kept his eye on her, but she seemed to have settled down. He decided that an honest answer would probably be best. "I haven't had the best getting to sleep now, let alone the last 8 years, so I suppose chronic would be accurate." The woman keeps writing away in her notepad. "I have a few things that could help you out, but I am going to need a good idea as to why you have trouble sleeping. Chemical imbalance doesn't get the same treatment as an everwake curse, insomnia from physical pain, or just plain old nightmares. Hell, even those need to be treated separately since a few are from traumatic memories, while others are just overactive imagination. So, what's your excuse?"

Had Sirius been a bit more cautious, he would have picked his words more carefully. Instead, his Gryffindor traits kicked in and went with blunt truth. "Got anything to help with Dementor Exposure?" Both Sirius and the woman froze and in a second their eyes met. Sirius, running on instincts, raised his wand and went for a stunner, only to suddenly feel the weight of the wards come crashing down on him, slowing his movement to a crawl. The last thing he saw was two glowing blue eyes looking at him as a flash of red filled the room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so one cliffhanger. But at least nothing an old dog can't walk off. Right?
> 
> Next Chapter could be out in a day or two, depending how merciful the Muse remains. At 33,000 total and working on Chapter 8.


	4. The Start of Something Beautiful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am glad so many are enjoying my work. This is one of my favorite chapters so far. Hope you all enjoy and come back for more. Little warning, my weeks are going to be a bit more busy, especially Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So far the Muse has answered, despite the insomnia haze. No promises in the future.

While Sirius remembered some very wild parties and awkward mornings, this was the first time he found himself strapped to a chair. For a second he thought he was naked, seeing as his clothes were neatly stacked up on the table in front of him, a transparent case keeping his wand out of reach. He looked down at his body and noticed he was wearing some transfigured clothes, and funny enough, his hands were both trapped in some wood contraptions attached to the chair. His first thought was that Moody would be over the moon over how thoroughly paranoid his captor was, right after he lectures him about getting through in the first place. He was taking stock of his surroundings, a magical workshop and potions lab apparently, when his beautiful captor entered the room, closing the door behind her.

Sirius, still slipping into old habits, went first. "Usually I spend a bit of time with the ladies, dinner and wine, before stuff gets kinky. Personally, I don't mind getting to it early, but some prepwork is my usual cup of te-eeeee!" Sirius ended up needing a minute to recover his bearings, as a stinging hex to his privates had certainly stopped any more snarky remarks from his part. He just knew he was going to be sore for days, ointment be damned. The woman then came up to him and lifted his chin with her wand, the tip warm and clearing waiting let loose another spell. "Now, I usually don't mind some verbal jousting myself, but time is not a factor I am about to rely on so let's get down to business. The runic circle at your feet is a variant of a truth compulsion. It will break through anything, save a Fidelus, to dig the truth out of you, so if you currently have an unbreakable bow and any oaths on your magic, I would mention what you can safely say about them now, before I get digging."

Sirius racked his brain, trying to think of anything that would count as such. "No unbreakable vows and what oaths I swore to the Order of the Phoenix and the Aurors are now released, minus the Godfather Oath I swore. Only secrets I am keeping are under family magicks." The woman gave him a very predatory smile at his answer, "well, it's a good thing you're the Head of House, aren't you, Sirius Black, since such secrets can only be freely spoken by you." Sirius was starting to sweat as the ramifications of what she just said filled his mind, until she asked her next question. "To whom did you swear your Godfather oath to?" Sirius wanted to refuse to answer but the words slipped out of his mouth on their own, "Halley Lily Potter."

The woman seemed stunned by his answer. "What were you doing in this part of non-magical London and why?" Sirius tried to fight it again but finally decided to just let it out. "I am looking for my goddaughter. I was told by her birth parents that she was given over to muggles to raise. I named her my Heiress and sought to take her back and bring her home." The heat from her wand went up a bit and Sirius began to think there would be burn marks on his skin, that is if he didn't end up dead. Her next words were clipped, filled with barely contained rage, "Did you intend to return her to her biological parents?" Sirius didn't fight his violent response, "No!"

"What were your intentions in retrieving your goddaughter?" Her voice was guarded now. Sirius sighed, "Take her in as my family, maybe blood adopt her if she was willing. Raise her as she should have been raised, by family among magic, loved and cherished instead of casted out and set aside." The woman got quiet, her wand no longer burning a hole in his neck. He looked at her and she seemed ...conflicted. "If your goddaughter magically changed her name, would your oath still stand?" That question certainly threw him for a loop, though the answer was clear enough, "the oath was taken mid ritual, the oath is tied to her magic, not even a blood adoption would break it." His captor, dare he say it, seemed...happy about his answer. "If your goddaughter is happy and being raised by a wixen, taught magic, customs and etiquette befitting her state as your Heiress, what would you do?" 

Sirius really had to think about her question, since it wasn't something he had considered. "I would ask to be a part of her life, to be able to teach her the family magicks and to be given a chance to be a part of her family, something denied to us both for almost 9 years." His words seemed to weigh heavy in the air, as neither of them spoke. The woman sighed, summoned a small table and chair from the other end of the room and placed them both in the still active runic circle. She positioned everything so that the table was now in the center. Then, much to Sirius' surprise, she unlocked the boxes trapping his hands, though his arms were still bound to the chair. As she sat down, her eyes met his, and for some stupid reason he found them beautiful again.

"My name is Sabrina Selene Prasinos, mother of one Rhea Sabrina Prasinos, your goddaughter and Heiress. The runic circles magic is still active and will remain as such until we both leave it. We will remain here as long as it takes to hammer down what happens next. I will make this clear, anyone trying to seperate my daughter and I will meet a bloody and violent end. We clear, Lord Black?" Sirius swallowed at the vehemence behind her words. "Crystal." The moment his words leave his mouth, the tension seems to leave her body. "Were you aware that someone tried to strip Rhea of her magic, someone who then proceeded to place a blood tracker and health monitors on her?" Sirius looks at her and pales, "Wait, that can't be right. James-," the growl that escaped her throat made his hackles rise. "Uhm, _they_ said that Voldermort took her magic and then tried to do it to Henry, then everything went to shit." 

"I can tell you that the traces of magic I found show that the same person who tried to strip her magic was the same who cast the other spells. The only magical trace that was different was what was left in her cursed scar, which I would bet matched that of Voldemort." Sirius was mulling everything over, when her words fully sunk in, "Wait, she had a cursed scar too? I thought it was only Henry." Her blue eyes looked into his gray and she shook her head. "Don't know if it's the exact same kind of scar for him, but whatever magic led her to me also cleansed her from foreign magic, so her cursed scar is now healed and closed." 

Sirius sighed in relief, happy that she won't be carrying a permanently open wound from old snake face… "what do you mean that magic led her to you?" Sirius barely had a seconds warning before her wand pointed at his face and a soft legilimens was spoken before his mind was inundated with everything Halley went through up till she met Sabrina. Why it cut off there lingered in his mind for a split second, but first he needed to down a shot of firewhiskey. Or maybe twenty.

Their conversation went on for a few hours, from brainstorming ideas onto who was responsible for what happened to Halley, how they would go about protecting her and how often they were going to meet so that Rhea would spend some time with him. A knock on the door made Sirius and Sabrina stop. Sirius' heart leaped to his throat as the door opened and a shy, innocent looking little girl peered in. Her hair wasn't the ink black he remembered, as now it sported some bronze highlights. Her skin was pale but not in the unhealthy variety some purebloods had, as it clearly saw some sun. She was thin, but not the emaciated thin he saw in the memories. "Should I be fetching a body bag or you keeping this one?" 

Ok, maybe not so innocent. The smirk on her face made him smile, knowing that there just might be a Marauder in her yet. Sabrina smiled and padded him on the back, "Can't say about a keeper, but he will be sticking around." Sirius frowned when Sabrina's words didn't seem to have the desired effect. Even Sabrina noticed and she quickly explained, "This is Sirius Orion Black, your godfather. He had no part to play in what happened to you and wants to help. I already showed him everything that happened and he is willing to stay and help us out." That seemed to make Rhea smile, chasing away any lingering doubts she had. Her eyes looked down but he wasn't sure if she was looking at the rest of him or at something else. Of course her next words made him choke on his own spit. "So, how long before you start planning to have him in your room with the silencing charms up?"

"In a month or two." It took Sirius a few seconds to realize that yes, both of them were still inside the runic circle, that Sabrina had actually found him attractive enough to have considered bedding and was possibly planning it and that his goddaughter was observant enough to take advantage of the situation both of them were in. Rhea's giggling voice seemed to echo across the house as she ran away, as Sirius slowly turned to look at a decided red faced Sabrina. Wishing to defuse the tension, and take advantage of the circle before they both left it, Sirius asked the question that had been on his mind since the impromptu memory dump. "So, care to tell me why you stopped the memory when you found her in the snow?" Sabrina's face went from embarrassed to playful, "Because, everything before that day was what you needed to know Halley. Now, you have to get to know Rhea the old fashioned way." 

Sirius couldn't help but smile at that answer, as both stepped out of the circle. His last words to Sabrina were both truthful and straight from the heart. "Thank you. I can't wait to get to know her better."

-ᛦ-

  
  


Sirius would be the first to guiltily admit he expected to see some trace of James and Lily in the little girl. Sure she had James' hair, but her's wasn't as bad as the eternal mess that the Potters were famous for, and he would admit that the bronze highlights really looked good on her and could only imagine how many hearts she would break once she hit puberty. He had already asked Andromeda to have a selection of Black family curses ready to teach Rhea as soon as she rejoined the wider magic community. Though, to be honest, he knew his little pup was far from defenseless.

As soon as September was about to start, the shop got surprisingly busy. Sabrina explained that the local wixen who had children at Hogwarts or who were homeschooled would come by her place and buy the potions ingredients and supplies they would need. Hers tended to be of higher quality and lower prize, not to mention she wasn't as dreadful as the guy running the Apothecary in Diagon Alley. Sirius agreed. The guy gave him the creeps too and Sabrina was easy on the eyes. As much as he tried not to think of Hal-Rhea's mother that way. So unlike all of August, the shop's wares needed to be constantly restoked. He had been about to offer them Kreacher's services in helping out, only for said words to suddenly get stuck in his throat, as he watched 10 year old Rhea using wandless magic to restock all the shelves. Wandless and silent magic!

Sabrina smiled at his stupefied expression and explained, "She has several affinities to magic where a wand is a bit of a disadvantage, so I tried teaching her how to do magic wandlessly. She took it like a fish to water and can now do a few spells silently too. I tried to keep up with her but the best I can do is basic summoning and a soft lumos charm." Sirius shook his head as he looked on as the shelves were already sorted and restocked, just as a new family of wixen stepped in. He stood back at the door that led upstairs to the actual living quarters of the building as he watched Sabrina sort out the supplies for the couple, while Rhea chatted with the couple's little girl, who looked very much of Hogwarts age, apparently giving her some tips in potion making. When the woman, who seemed to be in her fifties looked over at him and frowned, he got worried.

The woman turned to Sabrina and gave her a questioning look, "You sure this man is worth keeping around? We don't want to see you or Rhea getting hurt." Sabrina looked at him, the devilish grin that graced her face forced a decidedly dog whine out of his throat. "Oh, I am sure he won't be too much trouble. He absolutely adores Rhea and would never let anything happen to her. As for me, I am sure I can get a decent leash to wrap around his neck, good enough to keep him away from the proper ladies in the area. At worst, I could always use him as potions ingredients." The cackle the old witch let out made Sirius relax, despite reminding him of Bella. As soon as the family was set to leave the witch walked over to him, a stern look on her face. "Sabrina has been good to us here, away from the troubles in the Ministry and the Wizengamot. You treat her and little Rhea good, you hear?"

Sirius smiled and gave her a soft bow, "I would never dream of treating them as anything but the proper and lovely ladies that they are. Besides, Sabrina's stinging hexes have a decidedly cruel aim." The witch smiled at him. "As they should," were her parting words as she and her family left the store. Watching as all the witches and wizards visited the store prior to September 1st made him feel as close to normal as he could remember, even as he began to make plans to protect this peaceful life before next July comes around.

-ᛦ-

Samhein came around and Sirius found himself a bit conflicted. He remembered all the same Samhein celebrations back at Grimmauld Place and he wasn't very fond of them. He remembered celebrating Halloween at Hogwarts with James, Remus and …, well he remembered all the pranks they made and how disgustingly full of sweets they would get. He remembered the night that every other witch or wizard would celebrate the disappearance of Voldermort and the supposed end of the war. He knew of two witches that would not be celebrating with cheers. The early morning appearance of an osprey messenger Patronus made sure of that. "Tonight isn't a good night for Rhea. I _need_ you here and you will be staying over. Whether you sleep as a dog on the floor or not is up to you."

When he arrived at the living room on the second floor, he found his goddaughter on the sofa, a throw blanket wrapped around her lower body and a stuffed black dog hugged to her side as she read a large book on her lap. She looked up and gave him a smile, though he could see it failing to reach her eyes. Sirius smiled as he sat down on the sofa beside her. "Hey sweetheart. What book are you reading today?"

  
  


Rhea kept her eyes on the book, ""Goblins: Traditions and Etiquette." Mom said that I should get started on getting to know goblins, especially since we will be going to Gringotts next year. This seemed to be the least biased book I could find." Sirius looked at the book and nodded. "Probably. I have read a few others, since Blacks are also expected to have cordial relations with the goblins and this is the best one I found." 

  
  


His goddaughter turned the page. "I looked at the owl mail order catalog and couldn't find a book on learning their language. Anything in the Black library on it?" Sirius thought for a moment and shook his head, "Not that I remember. Why?" Rhea looked at him as if the answer was obvious, "We are going to need them to do a lot for us, keeping me and mom safe for starters. Not to mention they run your Family's finances. I want to show them proper respect and speaking to them in their own tongue, following their own traditions, seems like the right thing to do." 

Sirius conceded the point. "I will look around and see what I can find." Rhea smiled at him and said "Thanks!", before getting back to reading. Sirius looked at the stuffed dog on her arm and gently touched it. "Does it have a name?" Rhea looked at the dog and touched its head lovingly. He could see how much she loved the toy. "This is Padfoot." Sirius stilled and tried to wrap his brain around that. He knew Sabrina was aware he was an Animagus that resembled a Grim and that he called it Padfoot, but Rhea's behavior makes it clear that the toy has been around a bit more than 3 months. So how... "Nice name. I think I remember it from somewhere."

The girl flipped the page again and he was always amazed how she could divide her attention so well. Probably why Sabrina called him over, since she probably couldn't get her to not think about the night while she made the ritual preparations and everything. "Padfoot is a Grim. Most people are scared of them, but I think they're cool. I remembered the name from … somewhere and it felt right when Mom got him for me. Later I read how people see them in a book. It felt … wrong." Sirius smiled, hoping that maybe she remembered his animagus name from when she was a toddler. She was always asking for rides on him as a dog and he could never say no. "Then I saw one in the graveyard. He was so sweet. His tail was wagging happily and he kept licking my cheek." 

Sirius was sure his heart stopped for a second as he tried to … well, nothing really comes to his mind when his 10 year old goddaughter admits to having not only seen but touched an omen of death. "When and where was this?" Rhea looked up and was a bit in thought when she answered, "Almost a year ago, just before Yule, at Kensal Green Cemetery. One of mom's friends died and was buried there. I saw the Grim while the funeral was going on, but no one else did. Mom didn't see it either, but she wasn't mad at me. Said that Grim's are very picky about who they interact with." She went back to her book as Sirius was left in thought. While he wasn't exactly happy that Rhea met a Grim, she clearly wasn't marked for death, so there doesn't seem to be much for him to worry about. "Did your Mom tell you I was an Animagus?"

-ᛦ-

Sabrina was trying to concentrate on the runic circle for their Samhain ritual. Most who follow the Olde Ways hardly ever set one up, usually just an altar with offerings and photos of the departed, some carved turnips for traditional protection and a few kept more modern protection runic stones in their pockets. Most people of course didn't have a budding Necromancer in their home, and they certainly didn't have to worry about an excess of Death Magic in the ritual making it a more … involved experience. The first time they both went through the Samhain ritual, it was an unmitigated disaster. The entire neighborhood felt heavy with Death Magic for a few days, until a cleansing ritual she had Rhea lead successfully defused the magic. While she didn't see any Ministry personnel in the area, she did see a single Unspeakable walking disillusioned through the neighboring streets. Thank the Goddess for Mage Sight.

The runic circle in front of her was one of the most complicated she had ever made. Instead of the typical pentagram or heptagram, this one was a heavy 12 pointed dodecagram. While Abrahamics would associate it with either the tribes of Israel or the Apostles, older mages had a different story. The Greeks tied it with the Ancient Gods, who held Authority over all the great powers, death included. Sabrina hoped that it, with ritual materials tieing into each realm of Authority, would be enough to keep Rhea's Death Magic anchored into the ritual. Finishing up with the Altar and the plates, Sabrina was already on her way upstairs when a definite childish squeal reached her ears.

There, on the living room floor, was Rhea playing with Sirius in his Animagus form. Sabrina had been marginally worried when Rhea decided to pet the invisible Grim at the graveyard, but the magical creature clearly meant no ill will. When she took Rhea to an area she knew had Thestrals and the girl could not only see them but actually interact with the then very happy winged horses, Sabrina knew that Rhea's affinity towards Death Magic was why the Grim wasn't a threat. She really doubted any of Death's creatures on Earth would ever even consider harming one of their own. So she made the very educated guess that Sirius and his Grim like Animagus form would be just the thing to keep her girl happy and distracted. Samhain and Yule would always be powerful days for the nascent Necromancer, but the tragedies surrounding Rhea on Samhain would always be a concern. 

-ᛦ-

Sirius stared at the ceiling above him, his head replaying the events surrounding the Samhain ritual over and over in his mind. He had never been in a ritual like that. Ever. Rituals in Samhain were meant to allow a person to feel the thoughts and feelings of their dearly departed loved ones. It was always supposed to be vague but reassuring. So when he suddenly found himself standing inside his Grandfather's office in Black Castle, he knew something else was at play. "Sirius."

There, sitting in the armchair next to the fire was Arcturus Black, looking no older than the last time Sirius was in this same office, when he was but 12 years old. He certainly felt like he was twelve again. "I must admit, this wasn't what I had in mind for tonight." A smirk on his grandfather's eternally stoic face certainly added to that feeling. "No, I don't suppose it was. But the Veil isn't known to waste anyone's time, so why not take advantage of the moment? So, Lord Black, is there something an old soul like mine can help you with?" Sirius was about to take him up on that when he remembered the stories about how not to behave on Samhain among the dead.

"Arcturus Black, I can't thank you enough for the honor you have bestowed upon a wayward son of the House of Black. I can only ask that you grant me your blessing going forward so that I may do my best for our Family and our Blood." Sirius felt a great weight lift of his back as his Grandfather smiled at him, a genuine smile! He was left with the sudden desire to cry as the old man pulled him into his arms and hugged him. "My grandson, there was never a moment I doubted your place in our family. No matter what world, what time, you would always strive for the best for our family, even if many of ours were blinded by a madman's words. You have my blessing now and always as you lead the House of Black. I do, however, have two things to ask of you, though one I can already guess the answer." 

Sirius pulled back and nodded at Arcturus, who looked at him fondly. "The first is one you already are doing. Take great care of Dorea's granddaughter. Her place in the world will invite allies and enemies easily and her gifts will only confuse and scare the unprepared. Pave the way for her, restore the Olde Ways among the fools of the Wizengamot so that her gift to you on this night finds its way into the hearts of all who believe and those who have yet to learn about Magics hidden truths." Sirius swallowed, now understanding more about Rhea's magic. Even her story of the Grim seems to make all the senses in the world. "For my goddaughter, my heir and if Magic, and her mother willing, my daughter, I will."

Arcturus nodded, "The second and last thing I ask of you, my heir, is that you do what you can for Bellatrix. Forces beyond her control have stripped her of not only the freedom of her body but also of her mind and heart. Believe that the cousin that you loved as a sister still lingers beneath the puppet strings. There will be a chance for the House of Black to reclaim its last wayward child and your Heir holds Bellatrix' fate in her hands. Believe in them both, Sirius Orion Black III." Sirius burns his grandfather's words in his heart, hoping to one day see his cousin restored to the bright witch she once was. "I will." 

The walls of the room then began to fade to black, a grey mist rising from the ground. Before Arcturus vanished, Sirius had to ask one last thing. "Grandfather. Do I have your blessing to Court Sabrina Selene Prasinos, in hopes that she honors our family as my Lady Black?" By that time the room had dissolved into a black void but his heart jumped as he saw his Grandmother Melania appear from the void, her arm linked with his Grandfather's just like he remembered seeing when they were alive together. His Grandfather turns to his wife who smiles and nods at him. Arcturus turns back one last time, a smile on his face. "You have our blessing."

Sirius feels a soft hand touch his chest. He knows he is in Sabrina's bed, which she expanded so that both he and Rhea could rest together. Death Magic, which he now knew his daughter had in spades, tended to leave a person cold, hence the shared sleeping arrangement. He feels a soft charm descend on his goddaughter's sleeping figure. He turns to look at Sabrina's wide open eyes, the glow of magic still illuminating them in the dead of night. "Feeling better?" Sirius nods. 

After a few silent minutes, "I saw my grandfather, the previous Lord Black. I asked for his blessing, which he gave and he asked me to do some things for the sake of our House. I agreed." Sabrina hums, the sound a delight to his ears. "I may have also asked him for his blessing with a courtship. He and my grandmother gave it." He feels Sabrina tense at that. "Sirius, I am sterile. You know this. I won't be able to continue your family line." Sirius kept his eyes staring at Sabrina, a silver glow also lingering. "I know that. But we discussed Blood Adopting Rhea. Together. She is already your daughter and I would be honored if she saw me as her father. But I certainly wouldn't want to do that if the single most beautiful woman in my life wasn't willing to share. So, Sabrina Selene Prasinos, would you do me the great honor of allowing me to Court you?"

The room is silent as Sabrina stares at him, looking for anything out of place. She eventually sighs. "Fine! But you better make sure your family's place at Grimmauld is restored to its full strength. I am not bringing Rhea into a house where she could one day be vulnerable, and I am not just talking about Voldemort and his terrorists. You know who is going to come after her. After tonight, you _know_ what she is and that anyone who tries to kill her will be receiving the full weight of my fury. You better do your part, Sirius." Sirius pulls Sabrina's hand up from his chest and up to his lips. The sight of her blushing face will keep him warm as he begins to plan a long courtship. "I promise, you and Rhea will have me at my best. The House of Black will protect its own. No matter what."

-ᛦ-

There were a lot of reasons for Sirius to be thankful on his first Yule out of Azkaban. He could have never asked for a better mother for his goddaughter than Sabrina. Over the months since she captured him, Sirius had become exceedingly fond of her, especially now that they began a proper courtship. He loved making jokes about how they met, which seem to delight Rhea to no end, though Sabrina's promises of retribution made him feel...conflicted, especially when she talks about how creative she can be with restraints. Sabrina, aside from just delighting him with her company (and featuring prominently in his more pleasant dreams) really showed her stripes as a healer and a potions mistress. His Dementor induced night terrors had gone from a nightly occurrence to now once every two weeks or so. Part of spending time with his two favorite girls was exercising with them, though it did wound his pride when Rhea was able to do a few more laps around the park, after he was already laid out on the floor, Sabrina passing by just as effortlessly. Though he did enjoy the sight of the latter in her jogging clothes, at least when it was warmer. 

Sirius would often be found watching as the two ladies went about their day, from Rhea helping Sabrina with some really advanced potions, including a steady supply of their version of wolfsbane potion for a werewolf that had family nearby. Sabrina had apparently been the protege of one of her Great-Aunts, one Chantal Prasinos. The fact that Sirius had known her name surprised Sabrina, as she wasn't sure how much of her works actually survived, since her own copies of many of her Great-Aunt's journals were lost in a fire. The look on her face at the mention of the fire made it clear that she had lost something more than just books, but he kept that to himself. He also forgot to mention to her that he owned several copies of said journals, many of them now sitting comfortably as presents under the Yule Tree on the second floor.

Rhea continued to just be a delight all around. She was studious, but not as obsessed as Lily had been, reading everything from death and funeral rituals from across the world, the responsibilities and decorum expected of an Heiress and even several scientific books, some surprisingly on medicine. He would never, ever admit to being a bit creeped out by her interest in death (yes, she had Death Magic but still), but it was clearly out of a respectful approach. She had actually gone back to Kensal Green Cemetery on November the 2nd, and proceeded to spend hours playing with the Grim. Of course, Sirius couldn't see the Grim, but he knew it was there. His goddaughter was knocked down by what he assumed was a very playful hound. Sabrina had told him it was best to let her have her fun. The fact the graveyard felt lighter by the time they left made Sirius agree that she had a point. Rhea's joyous face certainly seemed to lighten the mood, wherever she went.

Not surprisingly, Rhea's studious nature meant she was getting surprisingly good with other languages. She had a near perfect grasp of English, only stumbling with regional variants and words, was able to hold a conversation in French and Greek, and could interpret Latin well enough. She had been a little put out on not having found any books on Goblin speak (she refused to call it by the name wizards had for it since it was clearly meant as an insult) but it only drove her to study their customs more closely, so as to be as respectful as possible. Sirius, of course, decided that the book he obtained from very deep in the Black Library would be the perfect Yule present for his little bibliophile. Though he was sure he was going to get an earful for keeping it quiet for so long.

-ᛦ-

Sabrina couldn't help but smile as Sirius and Rhea gathered around the Yule Tree, picking up the presents and passing them around. The last few months since Samhain had been wonderful. Rhea adored Sirius and Sabrina could see why. He was playful, but never excessive or cruel. He always made sure that both Rhea and Sabrina were satisfied with whatever little plan he made before committing to it. His idea of taking Rhea to a town fair in rural Britain had been perfect, since they didn't have to worry about ID checks or overusing the confundus charm. Rhea had a great time on the machines, and both had spent extra time terrorizing the locals on the bumper cars. The smile on her daughter's face remained there all night, even while she slept, her arms wrapped around Padfoot. She had been very clear that she wasn't getting another stuffed toy, and Sabrina conceded not to buy one this year. Besides, she was likely going to get a living pet in a year. Sabrina just hoped it wasn't a Grim or a Thestral. Nothing short of Black Castle would be suitable for them.

She also had to give it to Sirius. For someone who spent most of his life in either Azkaban or fighting his family, the man had gone to all the stops to be as formal as possible. He always curtsied kissing her hand, always was the one to open the door for her and Rhea. He even pulled the chair out for her at their own dining room. Rhea was absolutely giddy with all of it, always asking him when he would spend the night over. His blushes were well worth the teasing.

  
  


"Mom! Can we start?" Sabrina stepped out of her thoughts, and looked at the clock. It read 9 am. "Sure, youngest first." Rhea reached out and pulled out a present the size of a jewelry box. She found a necklace with three charms on it; a shaggy dog, an osprey and a waxing moon. Rhea loved her grandmother's bracelet and had associated herself with the waxing moon, Sabrina being the full moon and Selene, may she rest in peace, the waning moon. "It's perfect." Sabrina then opened a similarly sized box and swallowed a curse that she really didn't want Rhea to overhear from her. A platinum chain and locket rested on black felt. The locket showed a large round sapphire moon in the center with a waxing moon and a waning moon, both in cream colored gold wrapping around the edges towards the back. When open, the cover would split, replicating the symbol of the triple goddess, with space for a single photo inside. It was perfect and Sabrina wanted to smack Sirius for the obviously expensive gift. A soft "Thank you" was all she said, carefully putting the locket away.

Sirius' gift was from both of them. He looked surprised at the two gold embroidered black fountain pens, the case sporting the House of Black's coat of arms. "I remembered L- a friend showing me one of these, though obviously it didn't look as good as these." Sabrina smirked, "While not as prevalent now as a few years ago, pens like these are seen as a sign of status. As Lord Black, it seemed appropriate. I bought them, but Rhea went through the trouble of enchanting them." Sirius then turned at his goddaughter, who blushed. "They won't run out of ink, and you can easily change the ink color without issue. They are also charmed to not wear down and break. At least for a few years, I think." Sirius then proceeded to scoop up Rhea into a hug, who squealed at getting caught. Sirius beamed. 

The rest of the presents went as expected. Sirius smiled as Rhea sputtered when she found his book that taught Goblin Speech (the closest and least demening English name for the Goblin's natural language). He himself laughed at receiving a book on Modern and Equitable Laws for Magicals from around the world, something Sabrina felt would be best after Sirius told her about what his grandfather wanted him to do. She did get a near second heart attack when she found two of her Auntie Chantal's potions journals, copies that she had lost. She proceeded to hug Sirius, propriety be damned, as happy tears fell from her eyes. 

After cleaning up and lighting the Yule log in the chimney, she found herself unable to move from the doorway, with Sirius right next to her. "What did you do?" Sirius looked at her, some indignation in his face, "While normally blame should fall on me on any pranks, this isn't one of mine." A giggle coming from the stairs leading to the third floor captured both their attention. There was Rhea, her face sporting a very mischievous smile as she pointed above their heads, before rushing up the stairs to her room. 

Right above their heads was a decidedly well hidden, at least from inside the family room, mistletoe. Sabrina looked at Sirius, her face getting flushed. Sirius gave her one of his roguish smiles before sighing, "Look, I am sure this isn't what you had planned, but I supposed I could just kiss you on th-" was as far as Sabrina let him say, her hand wrapped tightly around his tie as she brought her lips against his, her other hand losing itself in his long curly hair. Despite some hesitation, Sirius did spend the night, and Sabrina made sure to apply the silencing charms on the room and door. She also needed to thank her daughter come morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you are all enjoying the new family dynamic. They are an absolute joy to write.
> 
> Next Chapter is a bit shorter than this one but has a scene that made me cry as I wrote it. Need to give it a longer look to make sure it does what I want it to do.


	5. Joining the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the New Chapter, which does expand a bit on what has been setup. We also meet some new players who will be working to help our little Family flourish. Hope you enjoy!

Sirius was a ball of nerves as he walked up the steps of Gringotts, with Ted Tonks at his side. After welcoming Ted into the family, he had placed the 1st generation (both Sabrina and Rhea were nagging him to drop the word muggle) as his Proxy for the Black Family Seat on the Wizengamot. Both his appointment and Sirius' decision to align the House of Black with the Neutral Faction had left some very disgruntled traditionalists and reformists in his wake. Sirius knew that for all intentions Rhea was going to be a traditionalist, though far more open minded than the typical members of the Dark Faction. Unfortunately, Voldermort's ghost still haunted the Wizengamot, with the Light and Dark Factions constantly bickering and fighting over legislation, some submissions being highly important and others questionable at best. Since the end of the war the Potters, with Dumbledore's backing, solidified a bloc in the Light Faction. Sirius thought that Charlus and Dorea were fortunate to not see how far James had dragged the once Neutral House of Potter so far up Dumbledore's rear. Charlus had hated the man. 

Ted had being doing a good job of representing the House of Black, usually siding with the Neutrals, which lead to quite a few requests for Sirius to help solidify a Neutral bloc, something he would be working towards as soon as his goddaughter's safety and future was completely removed from James's shadow. Both Andromeda and Ted knew about Rhea, under the Black Family's vow of course, but they hadn't met her or Sabrina. The latter had been adamant that Rhea should remain away from anyone tied heavily with Mainstream Magical Britain, and the Proxy to the Black Family and his wife known for being a healer in St. Mungos made them both too high profile to risk exposing Rhea just yet. Which is why Sirius and Ted entered Gringotts first, since the sight of a Lord and his Proxy together at the Bank wouldn't draw too much attention. They had called on one of Teller Goblins, who had let Sharpfang, the House of Black's Goblin Account Manager, know that they were there waiting for two other people needed to begin their business. Sharpfang was aware that Sirius and Sabrina were Blood Adopting his goddaughter today and should be making all the preparations.

Apparently the thought of his two ladies summoned them, as both just walked into the bank's lobby, the Goblin guards holding the doors open wearing some very surprised expressions. Of course his mind lost some traction as he saw Sabrina's clothes. A tight dark blue turtlenecked, long sleeved shirt and black dress pants certainly made her look like a non-magical. He would have loved to see his locket on her neck, but Sabrina refused to do so, saying that the locket was too ostentatious for regular wear. She did wear it when they were in private though, especially behind closed doors and silencing charms. His little girl also wore non-magical clothing, her long hair braided and hanging forward from her left shoulder. He saw them take the line waiting for a Goblin Teller, a smirk on his face knowing what was about to happen. He didn't have to wait long to see his little Marauder prank everyone in the lobby, Goblins included.

" _Good morning Teller Mors'hook. May your vaults grow as your enemies falter before your blade. Would you inform Account Manager Sharpfang at your earliest convenience that The Prasinos are here and wish to meet him along with Lord Black and his Solicitor. We do not wish to impose on your time and gold._ " Sirius had to bite his cheek, trying his best not to laugh at the sight of every Goblin in hearing range, which for Goblins meant the whole damned lobby, stopped what they were doing and stared at Rhea in dumbfounded silence. His little girl had not only shown them the proper respect and traditional greeting, but did it all in Goblin Speech, which he could now understand but not speak. The fact that no other wixen could understand what had been requested made it the perfect cover. Mors'hook eventually recovered his voice and with a smile spoke back to his girl in Goblin Speech, " _May your enemies fall before you, youngling. I will send word to Account Manager Sharpfang immediately. Please stand in the waiting area for one of our fetchers to collect you._ "

" _We thank you for your prompt service, Teller Mors'hook. May your day be profitable, in blood and gold._ " Rhea bowed as she and her beaming mother stepped out of the queue and into the waiting area, close to where Sirius and Ted were standing, the eyes of every Goblin following their steps until the moment ended and everyone went back to work. Before Ted could say anything, a Goblin reaches them, "Lord Black, Solicitor Tonks, your account manager is ready to receive you. This way please."

As soon as they enter Sharpfang's office, which was oddly empty, Ted turned towards him. "Sirius, was that …", "... your future niece who just left everyone gobsmacked. I do believe it was." 

The look on Ted's face was all Sirus needed to burst out laughing, only stopping when Sabrina and Rhea stepped into the office. Instantly, Rhea's eyes were everywhere in the office. The Goblin that had gone to fetch his ladies, whom Sirius now recognized, rounded the desk, which caused Rhea to still before bowing deeply, " _You honor_ _us, Elder Sharpfang, Troll Slayer. May your ventures bring you gold beyond measure._ " What followed was the first time Sirius had ever seen his Account Manager laugh heartily. Sharpfang waved his hand, turning to English, "Think nothing of it. To hear a youngling of the wand wavers speak to us with honor and respect is enough reason for me to take some extra steps. You learned well, especially your notice of my full title. I imagine it was the club?" Rhea nodded as Sirius noted the massive Troll Club held in a stand at the edge of the room. Sharpfang turned to Sirius, "I take it this is the youngling you wish to bring into your family by blood and magic. I can say Gringotts will be delighted on the day she assumes your status as Head of House." 

Sirius smiled fondly, "You will forgive me if I wish that said day is far into the future?" Sharpfang nodded, "of course. Now let's begin. Before we go through the Blood Adoption, it is wise to do a full inheritance test. Should she have some claims to other houses, it is best to secure them before the change takes effect. Please take the knife and pierce the skin, youngling. Let us see what more you have to offer to Gringotts." Rhea took the ritual knife and did a soft bow of her head, earning a soft chuckle from Sharpfang. She cut into her palm, not reacting to the pain and let her blood flow freely into the Goblin made bowl until he waved her off. He caught a bit of surprise as Rhea effortlessly healed her hand, silent and wandless. Regardless, everyone turned their eyes to the parchment on the desk.

Gringotts Inheritance Test

Name: Rheannon Sabrina Prasinos (formerly Halley Lily Potter)

Born: July 31st, 1980

Father by Birth: James Charlus Potter (disowned)

Mother by Birth: Lily Potter née Evans (bond severed)

Sibling by Birth: Henry James Potter (bond severed)

Mother by Magic: Sabrina Selene Prasinos (bonded)

Father by Magic: Sirius Orion Black III (incomplete bonding)

Godfather: Sirius Orion Black III (oathbound)

Godmother: Marlene Ariana McKinnon (deceased)

Inheritances:

Heiress to the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black (by will and paternal line)

Heiress to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Ravenclaw (by maternal line)

Lady* to the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell (by paternal line)

Member of the Ancient Prasinos Family (by maternal bond)

  
  


The room was silent for a moment. Rhea looked over at her mother, who nodded. "Elder Sharpfang, we were aware of the likelihood I would have multiple inheritances, but why is the Peverell one different?" Sharpfang looked at the parchment and went over the rules for inheritances. "It's likely a condition for the House of Peverell was met, resulting in your magical ascension. As the Houses of Perverell and Ravenclaw have been dormant for over two centuries, the Goblins account managers for them were reassigned. One moment, I need to contact the Director in order to get the other family rings." Sharpfang stood and left the office. 

Sirius barked up a laugh as Rhea curtsied at Ted. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Theodore Tonks of the House of Black. Allow me to properly introduce myself, I am Rheannon Prasinos and this is my mother Sabrina Prasinos." Ted shot a bemused look at a smiling Sirius, before softly bowing at Rhea, " A pleasure to meet such lovely ladies. I look forward to getting to know you both …properly." The last he said teasingly at Sirius, causing Rhea to giggle. A few moments later after light conversation, where Ted was affronted that both Rhea and Sabrina weren't fans of Quidditch (Sirius already gave up trying to convert them), Sharpfang returned, followed by a much older but intense looking Goblin. Rhea saw the emblem on his shoulder and bowed, " _We apologize for any inconvenience we may have presented to you, Chieftain Ragnok, Head of Gringotts Albion, Manticore Slayer. May your people ever prosper and your vaults ever fill._ "

"And may our business be ever profitable, youngling. Word of you has spread among the Goblins and many look forward to what tales will follow. Let us get to business." The Ancient Goblin placed two ring boxes on the table and pulled out a stack of parchments. "As Elder Sharpfang has informed you, the Ravenclaw and Peverell Houses had gone dormant, but as our Goblin magic confirmed, not extinct. The vaults for both remain intact, despite the Ministry and Houses with False Claims making several attempts to acquire them. Now, there seems to be an issue with the Peverell claim, with you being a Lady and not Heiress, is that correct?" Rhea nodded.

"Lets see. Of the lines capable of inheriting the Peverell family magic, only the Potters and Gaunts had the means to do so, though the Potters have held Proxy over the Peverell Seat in the Wizengamot since Iolanthe Peverell married into the family. However, according to the same marriage contract, should a Head of House Peverell successfully hold the family ring, said Head can regain control of the Proxy Seat and the Heirlooms left to the two mentioned families, and a few lost. These Heirlooms include a Cloak of Invisibility originating from one Ignotus Peverell, a Ring carrying an Onyx stone carved with the emblem of the Peverells originating from Cadmus Peverell and a wand originating from one Antioch Peverell, 15 inches of Elder Wood and a Thestral Tail Hair Core. Lastly, the Headship for the Family can be acquired via certain conditions. Firstly, a descendant of a Peverell must manifest Death Magic. Second, said descendant must participate in a ritual either requiring the use or adding the use of said Death Magic. Third and final, the descendant must have been touched by Death and brought Death into the world. The completion of all three conditions in any order will result in the ascension of said descendant to Headship of House Peverell."

…

  
  


…

"You Freak!" 

"You are here because your parents _knew_ what a monster you were!"

"I didn't do anything! Please, stop! It hurts!"

"You feel that, Girl! That pain is what you deserve!" "No, please stop!"

"Freaks like you don't deserve to eat. Now finish making dinner!"

"Please, my stomach hurts!"

  
  


"Remember that pain, Girl. It's the least you owe me for putting up with you!" 

"Mom…Dad…where are you? Please… take me home… "

"How dare you bring trouble to us, you little freak. After we bothered to send you to school. I think some time with my husband's belt will fix you up." 

"Please, I never said anything! Please no! Ahhhhhh!"

"She ran this way, let's get her Big D!" "Mom, Dad! Help Me!!!!!"

"You stay in the cupboard and pray we let you out early!" "Please … just let me die… I want to die..."

… 

  
  


… 

  
  
  


"Rhea"

Sabrina held her daughter, softly singing words of comfort into head ear as her daughter fell straight into a panic attack. Had she known what Ragnok would have said she would have stopped him. Part of the reason Sabrina had allowed Rhea to delve into her Death Magic and the many international rituals associated with it was to get her comfortable with the subject. Sure she needed to control her Death Magic, but she also needed to heal. And she did heal. Partly. The moment she is reminded about the Dursleys, Rhea's young Occlumency barriers around her traumatic memories tend to collapse. She hadn't had a single episode since Sirius arrived in their lives and Sabrina had been hoping to ask Andromeda to help Rhea with some Mind Healing, after the adoption. "It's ok little one, I am here. The monsters are long gone. You have healed. You're ok. I promise." 

Her words cut through the memories and Rhea's magic settles, the air growing lighter. Sabrina sighs, thankful that the episode was the shortest yet. She turns towards the Goblins. "Our apologies, Chieftain Ragnok, Elder Sharpfang. Certain topics have a habit of dredging up memories best left behind. If we could take a small break, perhaps some food, it would allow my daughter to be well enough to claim her birthrights and follow through with the Blood Adoption."

-ᛦ-

Ragnok sat at his desk, deep in Gringotts London. The day had certainly been illuminating. A disowned daughter to the Potters was now the Heir to the House of Black and the Lady to the Houses of Peverell and Ravenclaw. As the youngling was made the Blood Adopted daughter of Lord Black and Miss Prasinos, he had happily handed over control of the two formerly dormant accounts to Sharpfang. While the Peverell family wealth had long diminished, much spent in the dowries to the Potters and Gaunts, their vaults were still sizable, not to mention the many grimoires stored there, let alone the ones stored in Ravenclaw's vault. He could only smile as he thought of how much the little Necromancer would grow.

Necromancers had all but vanished in Europe, hunted down and slaughtered by Light zealots. He scoffed at how England, France, Spain and Italy had banned the practice of Necromancy, calling it "black magic." The Goblins knew better. Even in that instance when the girl panicked and Death Magic began to saturate the room, he could tell. No malice, no thirst, no violence. The magic was pure magic, untouched by intent. Intent and intent alone dictated how a spell would behave, from the most powerful healing spells to the most vile killing curses. Goblins were no strangers to death and in their history no Necromancer has ever treated them with anything less than respect. The irony seemed to be lost under the zealotry of the so-called Light. Of all the beings in the world, only Necromancers truly understand the value of life. All life.

He told Sharpfang to keep a close eye on the new family. Goblins could feel a change in the times like animals could a change in the weather, and the times were changing. He already signalled all of Gringotts that he was considering a wand waver as a Friend to the Goblin Nation. The last one had been a certain witch, whose legacy remains as divided now as it was in her own time. He hoped that with Gringotts' help, the young Rhea Black would grow into her full power, politically and magically. He had no doubt that with her in the world, Goblins could only flourish. Now, all he could do was wait and prepare. 

-ᛦ-

Rhea slowly opened her eyes, the ceiling of the Goblin's ritual chamber high above her. She could tell why blood adoptions tended to be used for babies. For those with more mature and powerful cores, the process would be more painful. Case in point the fact her whole body felt like she had decided to run for 24 hours straight, rather than her usual 2 hours. Movement to her left caught her attention and she could only smile. "Hi Mom, hi Dad."

She knew the reaction it would have on Sirius. She had wanted to call him Dad since Beltane, when he had gone all out and prepared an extravagant day for Mom. While most Beltane celebrations tended to be communal and involve activities no child of 10 years should be familiar with, she also knew that other, more private individuals tended to celebrate it at home. Mom's store had been thoroughly decorated with May flowers. When some of the neighborhood wixen came in for some last minute supplies and noticed, they complimented mom, who revealed it had been Sirius' work. The ladies gave her some knowing looks before they left. Pretty sure mom sported a blush up all the way up to dinner. After that they vanished up to their room. Rhea would like to say she didn't know what happened next, but the silencing charm dropping at 1 am and her mother's highly descriptive screams were more than enough evidence. Rhea's swift wandless silencing charm lasted all the way to lunch, where she made sure her mom and soon to be dad were "aware" that she heard. Mom and Sirius had a blush all day long, though mom's smile lasted for over a month. 

After checking in with the healers, while Sirius sported a derpy grin in the corner, Rhea was allowed to look in front of the mirror. Her hair now sported more curls like dad's, her skin now was closer to mom's and her sense of smell felt more acute. The last change was decidedly more welcomed. Her eyes stopped being the bright emerald green and were now cyan, a perfect blend of mom's and hers. The three spent a moment hugging each other, with Rhea thanking them profusely. They left the bank some 2 hours later.

While Rhea can admit that she remembers those hours perfectly, she can say that it boiled down to a lot of legalease. The Peverell Ancestral Home would be serviced and cleaned, but otherwise left in stasis, same as Black Castle. Grimmauld Place would serve as the Black Family home as soon as the renovations were complete and Sabrina managed to hire some staff for the shop. Sabrina herself was now fully sponsored by the Black Family, so she could technically expand, but she was too attached to her shop right now. Rhea could relate. Sure, Sirius was her dad now and they would eventually have to move in together. But Rhea had to admit, it would take a lot of time to get used to the idea that one day she would be saying goodbye to the only place she called home. For now, she wasn't going to think about it.

-ᛦ-

Two weeks. Two blissful, quiet weeks passed for Sabrina as she and Rhea dealt with the rush that tended to happen after the close of the school year. Some of Rhea's acquaintances, mostly the kids whose parents come to Sabrina for supplies, were saddened to know that Rhea would not be joining them at Hogwarts. She made it clear that with Sirius now officially in their lives, they didn't want a boarding school to interfere with it. The kids were surprisingly mature about it and her customers… well, they were more interested in when she'd be spotting a ring on her finger. Sirius tried to cut in on the conversation until Sabrina put her foot down and said that she would say no to ANY marriage proposal or betrothal agreement until she was 100% sure. Sirius wisely kept quiet. He then, also wisely, left her quite sore for the following morning, not that she was complaining about that. 

No, her complaints poured in when two weeks after Rhea's Blood Adoption, she received a very recognizable letter courtesy of a Long-eared Owl named Hermes. Sirius had been concerned, thinking it must be a missive about someone dying or her accounts in Germany getting frozen. When she told him it was a summons to the Prasinos Family home in France, he looked at her as if she was crazy. "You are panicking over an invitation to a family gathering, really?"

Sabrina counted to ten in English, then in Greek. "Usually you'd be right. If the letter didn't say I was "specially'' invited, along with my blood adopted daughter." Sirius froze. "Uhm, how bad is it, really." Rhea just stared at him, "Well, considering that Rhea's name is listed in the letter as "Black," that there is also a tentative invitation to a "Mr. Black'' and that the handwriting and signature are those of my other Great Aunt, who just so happens to be the Head of the Family, I think we're currently in a lifeboat waiting to see if we spring a leak before we are rescued. So not terrible, but still bad!" Sirius wisely went quiet after that, made sure to get his best dress robes, proceeded to buy both Sabrina and Rhea some new and expensive clothes, despite Sabrina's half-hearted attempts at saying no (she knew what he was trying to do), though Rhea refused to wear either a regular dress or robes and Sabrina joined in.

While Sirius looked like a good mix of magical and non-magical fashion, both Rhea and Sabrina went wearing dress pants, dress shirts and jackets. Sabrina's colors were full Prasinos colors, with a dark forest green jacket and pants and a cream colored dress shirt, Sirius' Christmas gift standing out on her chest for all to see. Sirius' went all out with dark colors: black long coat (after Sabrina pushed him back in his closet and told him to put away the trench coat), black Vest, gray striped shirt and black pants, the gold chain of his Black Family pocket watch visible over his vest. Lastly Rhea, decided to mix both their styles, with a black jacket and dress pants, dark green dress shirt, with her charmed necklace on the outside. 

The family of three took a portkey from Gringotts London to Gringotts Paris, before portkeying with the invitation to the arrival point on the outskirts of Chateau Landes, an unplotable Prasinos property on the west of France. Sirius looks on the stretch of land, most of it covered in trees, the large building sitting up the trail, hidden over a hill, when someone up the trail calls out Sabrina's name. Sabrina smiles and hugs the man on reaching him. "It's so good to see you, Jacques. How are the grandkids?" The old man, smiles, "getting up to mischief in Beauxbatons. Seraphina loves them as much as me, but I think by the time they are making babies of their own, Seraphina will be glad to hand over the reins to Jeanne." His eyes turn to Sirius and Sabrina wraps her arm around his. 

"Jacques, this is Sirius Black, father to my daughter and the man Courting me. Sirius, this is Jacques Prasinos my Great Uncle and co-owner of the property." She could feel Sirius tense up under Jaques scrutiny. "Are you treating my niece well, boy?" Sirius visibly swallowed, "I treat her as much as she lets me sir. Haven't ever seen a woman harder to buy clothes or jewelry for." The heartfelt laugh from Jacques and Rheas giggles made Sirius relax completely. "Prasinos ladies have never been one for shiny things. Only way to earn their hearts is through respect. And this little one must be my new great-great niece?" Rea curtsies at Jacques. "Rheannon Black née Prasinos. It's a pleasure to meet you sir. Mom says you made her wand?" 

Rhea and Jacques hold a long conversation on wand crafting as they enter the property. Sabrina takes Sirius' hand as they go inside, his eyes taking in the sight of the old home. She knew what he would see based on her own visits to Grimmauld Place. The place was beautiful and ornate, but not austentatious. Every once in a while he would spot an item that seemed out of place and Sabrina would explain that they belonged to particular family members. The family was massive, so little nick nacks, furniture and paintings became their currency. Sentimental value was more important to her family than outright value. Hence why she smacked Sirius after Yule for her necklace, since she _knew_ she would never be able to let it go. She loved it and if she was honest to herself, she loved the man too. Didn't mean she'd stop smacking him whenever he reverts back to being a neanderthal.

"Do try to make it out alive. I doubt your ladies would ever forgive my wife for killing you and I quite like them." Sirius seemed to take a double take at the man as he opened the door into a small dining room and walked away, chuckling. "Sabrina, do bring your family in. We got some wonderful tea from Yu in Hong Kong who wants every one of us to give it a try." Sabrina laughed, "Sure. Do let her know I am still waiting for a copy on her Chinese Potions Manual." The old woman lets out a quiet "of course" as Sirius takes his seat next to Sabrina, who is the closest on the left to the Matriarch, while Sabrina points Rea to sit opposite of herself, to the right of the woman. Setting her cup of tea down, the woman's eyes focus on him, she has the same sapphire blue as Sabrina, but these don't calm his heart or warm up his soul. It feels as if in a room with his Grandfather when he did something wrong. "And you are?"

"Sirius Orion Black, ma'am. I am the lucky soul your great niece agreed to be courted by." The old woman hum approvingly. "Well met Lord Black, Head of House Black. I am Seraphina Lourdes Prasinos. Head of the Prasinos Family. I take it our Sabrina has been educating you on what it means to be a Prasinos." Sirius smiled, "Everyday and not with words." The woman smiled. "Good. Words are not needed. There is no manual or rulebook for courting a member of the family. You either succeed or you fail. Understand?" Sirius nods. "Now, usually I stay out of my family's relationships, baring my own line of course. But when my beloved Chantal's favorite great niece not only became a mother via Blood Adoption, without prior warning…" she turns and looks at a clearly chastised Sabrina, whose soft "sorry" made Rhea giggle and made Seraphina smile, before turning stern again, "... and said child appears in our family trees as a Black, well I hope you can understand why we needed to meet. Now, I will be clear. Do you intend to one day marry Sabrina, daughter of Selene and have her take your family name?"

Sirius shakes his head. "I intend to one day ask for her hand in marriage and to share her life with me. Whether she agrees to marry me and if so agrees to take my family name, those are her choices alone." Sirius feels Seraphina's magic weighing down on him, before receding. "We haven't had a Prasinos take another's name in nearly a century. However, like you mentioned the choice will be Sabrina's." Seraphinas eyes switch to staring at Sabrina now, who squirms in her chair. "You have been very quiet in the years since your parents passed away. Were it not for your curt replies, you would have found Jacques or even Marcel at your door." Sabrina blushes and Seraphina sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Both Chantal and Selene were quick to call you one our most independent relations, but that doesn't mean you can't come and ask for aid." 

Sabrina sighs. "I know Great Aunt Serah, but… this was something I had to do. It wasn't pride or stubbornness. I felt it in my bones. I won't apologize for that." Seraphina nods her head. "No, I wouldn't either." She turns to Rhea, who had been surreptitiously feeling the magic in the house. "And you are Sabrina's little miracle, yes?" Rhea kooks over at her blushing mom and Seraphina elaborates. "When Sabrina was diagnosed as sterile, there were many in our family who offered to carry a child for her. It's a common practice with us. But she refused them all saying that the day she was a mother would be because of a miracle." Seraphina chuckles at the memory, "Everyone who knew her knew she said it a bit out of pride, but quite a few said that she would probably get her wish."

  
  


Rhea smiles, "and here I am." Seraphina nods. "And here you are indeed. Magic runs deep in you. While I did my best to scare your father…", Rhea giggles, "... your magic reached out. You found two things of interest across the property. Care to share?" Rhea's smile dropped. "You won't like what I say." The old woman's hands cover Rhea's and she tenses for a second before relaxing. "Maybe, but I would like to hear it." Rhea fidgets. "One of your horses out in the stables is weakening. She won't see the New Year…", Seraphina's face goes still, "... and Jacques should probably see a doctor, not a healer. He isn't fading yet, but he could if he sticks to magic alone. It's not working. Even then..." Rhea shakes her head. "I don't know." Seraphina sighs but gently squeezes Rhea's hand, "Thank you for telling me. Why don't you finish your tea and go down stairs? My daughter Jeanne is currently trying to keep her kids from burning the house down. Sirius, do go with her. You should ask Jeanne about her man, Rene. Might help you better know how to deal with a Prasinos." 

Sabrina waits a few moments after Sirius and Rhea leave the room. "You didn't know Jacques was sick." Seraphina shakes her head. "He has been tired lately, but nothing I thought was out of place at our age." Seraphina looks at Sabrina. "Her magic is not of a healer's touch, yet she feels illness. It is not the wildness of a Seer's eyes, though she has Mage Sight. I have never come across the like." Sabrina sighs and decides to take Saraphina's advice. "She has Death Magic. Death's creatures adore her and she is studying Necromancy." Seraphina stills and for a second Sabrina thought she made a mistake. "It will take some time… to tear down the Necromancy bans. Sadly she will need to be in the open to succeed, as no one will change a law if it does nothing of consequence." Sabrina's eyes begin to tear up as Seraphina smiles at her. "She may not carry our name, but she is our blood. And I will be damned if I let the latest Necromancer in our family fall. We didn't fail the others in the past and we won't fail her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like it, please leave a comment. 
> 
> The next chapter will deal with Years 1 and 2 in a condensed way. You will understand when you read it. Regardless, Henry isn't a MC exactly, Rhea and her growing Family are. But don't worry, there will be a big reveal within the recap of Years 1 and 2.
> 
> As mentioned before, a main theme of the series will be trauma and healing. Rhea's trauma isn't something that 2 years of love and support can magically fix. It will take time and action. There probably won't be anymore panic attacks, but there are other, more violent ways for trauma to manifest.


	6. Of Stones, Rites and Chambers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to never make a note like this. I dedicate this chapter to my aunt, who died suddenly this morning. Her last words to my mother was that she should get well, so now I have to spend more time with my mom. For comfort and to help her with survivors guilt. For everyone out there losing loved ones or who still have their families whole, remember to tell your family how much you love them. 
> 
> Putting this chapter up because I don't know how well I can write for the next few days. And a scene in it feels appropriate.

Sirius breathed in the cool Scotish air. Even in summer, cold days could linger on the Hogwarts grounds. When he first crossed the front doors of the castle, it had felt like home. Even after running away to Charlus and Dorea's Manor, Hogwarts still felt special. Now…now home felt like people. At the time it was Charlus, Dorea, James and Remus. Marlene had almost been a home. Now it was Andy and Ted, young Nymphadora, but more than anything it was Rhea and Sabrina. What magic the castle had in welcoming the orphans and misfits of the magical world was nothing compared to the fire that now burned in him. He would keep his family safe.

From memory he navigated the castle's hallways, quick and quiet, he moved through the halls full of memories of adventures, pranks and bullying. He was a parent now, so he had to admit it to himself. He had bullied other students. Many had become Death Eaters, even a few before they graduated. A part of him wondered if he had some blame to carry. He knows he is partly responsible for Snape. Remus had almost killed him and nothing came of it. Detention and house point loses, sure, but nothing that mattered. Except his innocence. He lost it that day in 5th year. He almost ended up with blood in his hands a full 5 years before he was fighting Death Eaters out on the streets. 

He was afraid of what another war would do to children like Rhea. He could see the signs. The Dark Faction was getting bolder, testing the boundaries of what they could get away with. The Light, on the other hand, was like a chained dog, ready for someone to let go of the leash. The last war had come at a terrible cost and for all the healing and celebrating after the end, certain people were gearing up for the next. He could see echoes of the past repeating itself. Slytherins waiting to be attacked, ready to defend their own. Children would come here, a "sanctuary" and lose any innocence they might have had. Rhea doesn't have that luxury. Hers was taken too early and too often. 

He could still see the blind panic in her face while in Sharpfang's office. Her magic, usually controlled and gentle, had gone haggard and sharp. It wasn't violent or dangerous, but it had waited. Her body and magic knew pain and it would always remember. Andy had confirmed as much. She would eventually outgrow the panic attacks, her mind would heal. But the innocence he remembered as he held a green eyed little girl had been snuffed out, by monsters who worked with flesh and blood, and by monsters who hid behind pretty words and lies. So he was here, to make sure he had the time. They would never hurt her again.

He knocked on the all too familiar door and opened after he heard an accented "Enter." He smiled at Mcgonagall's surprised expression. "Good morning Minerva. How are the Lion's treating you." The Transfiguration teacher walked around the desk and hugged him. "My Lions are perfectly fine. Except for the Weasley twins. That pair of Jokers seem to be following in your footsteps." Sirius laughed, "Ah, then perhaps I should meet them." She slapped his shoulder. "Absolutely not! I am already getting a Potter this year and I don't need you giving them any more ideas." 

"Speaking about the second coming of the Marauders, I don't suppose you read these?" Sirius held up a Hogwarts acceptance letter. McGonagall frowns and takes the letter to see the name on the back. Sirius was happy he was here, the reaction was priceless. "You… you… I suppose congratulations are a bit late." A few seconds later she pales, "No, no! I refuse to have to teach a Potter and a Black again." Sirius gives her a mischievous smile, "Then I supposed it's a good thing the letter isn't a confirmation, otherwise Dumbledore would have to take up teaching again." Minerva stares at Sirius before opening the letter and reading. "I don't understand. I mean a part of me is relieved, but why?" 

"First, I don't want this getting back to Dumbledore. This is a private matter between the House of Black and you, Deputy Headmistress. Second, can't you guess? I haven't exactly been around for 9 of the last 11 years." Minerva expression saddens. "Yes, I imagine being away for that long didn't do you or your daughter any favors. Is this a permanent refusal or will we see her here eventually?" Sirius sighs. "Right now her mother and I are in agreement that Rhea will be homeschooled with us for 2 more years. Everything else depends on her. We are keeping her out of everyone's reach, making sure she is ready to deal with a less than pleasant reality. I don't have to tell you the trouble that will be coming as soon as word spreads about an Heiress Black."

"No, you do not. I will keep this quiet, though I hope she does eventually come to Hogwarts, Marauders or not." The last she says with a cheeky grin. Sirius smiles and makes for the door, disabling the privacy wards he had quietly set up on entering. But not before saying, "Oh and don't worry. Pretty sure my girl will be Fillius' problem. I am sure nothing can go wrong with a Marauder in Ravenclaw."

It takes a moment for Minerva to register Sirius' last words. A Black with Fillius as head of … "The Morrigan have mercy on us all!"

-ᛦ-

"Silence! This meeting of the Wizengamot on the 21st of June 1991 will now commence. Chief Scribe, is there any outstanding business before we begin the session?" Dumbledore looked towards the Scribe who was reviewing the day's itinerary as Sirius looked on from the Black Family Seat, Ted Tonks at his side. "There is Chief Warlock. A change in representation will take effect. Theodore Tonks, Proxy of House Black, please stand." Ted stands up, "Thank you Chief Scribe, Chief Warlock. Members of the Wizengamot, I offer my best wishes as I stand down from my position as Proxy, though I will remain as my family's Solicitor, so do expect to see me around some more." A smattering of chuckles echoes in the chamber. "I turn over to my Head of House, Lord Sirius Orion Black, who will represent our Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black directly." Ted steps aside as Sirius descends to the floor of the Chamber.

After taking the non-binding oath in front of the Wizengamot, Sirius is not surprised when Dumbledore sticks his nose where it doesn't belong. "Sirius, my boy, have you given much thought as to realigning your House?" Sirius gives the old man a mischievous smile, "Not that it's any of your business _Albus_ , but I have. The House of Black shall remain Neutral. And if you ask me that question again, Chief Warlock, I would be more than happy to restore my House back into the Dark Faction in a moment's notice." The laughter that filled the chamber from the Dark and Neutral members warmed his heart, as did the look on Dumbledore's face as he walked back to his seat. Once seated he caught sight of James Potter's disapproving look, which he promptly ignored. Augusta Longbottom at least looked bemused. She had never been fond of the Headmaster.

The session went as expected, filled with budget concerns, bans on certain foreign items (he voted along with the Neutrals mostly) until the Light Faction, led by James, introduced a bill to ban all rituals. The Dark were obviously outraged, while the Neutral sat back and watched. Sirius, having heard enough, motions that he wishes to speak. Dumbledore looks at him questioningly, "The chamber recognizes Lord Black as willing to speak on the matter. For or Against the proposed law?" Sirius smiles, "Against the proposed law." Both the Light and Dark go quiet, with the Neutrals looking at him approvingly. "While I can understand Potter's concern over the use of certain rituals, I as Head of House Black cannot in good conscience allow an intricate part of Magical society be washed away by ignorance and misrepresentation." Sirius took a moment to organize his thoughts as the Light raised their voices, until the Chief Warlock brought them back to order.

"Though I can certainly understand why the ignorance has manifested, seeing as the NEWT course on Ritual Magics was discontinued without Wizengamot approval prior to my own education. I imagine the more wisen members of this body remember the elective or took part in it. Not to mention I believe many of my fellow Head of Houses have carried a few out themselves, as is customary in the process of assuming heirship." Many Heads of Houses nodded at his words, while those in the Light Faction seem to squirm in their seats. "I also know for a fact that rituals play an important part in a Healers duties, especially in the spell damage wards, as it's often the case that a cleansing ritual is the only means of removing the effects of spells and curses of unknown make and origin. I know for a fact the Potter family practiced rituals up to the previous generation, as I was invited during my stay in Potter Manor. I also vividly remember you, Lord Potter being invited to said rituals, most of which you decided to ignore. So please don't sit here spouting nonsense about the dangers of Ritual Magic, as I am sure Charlus Potter would have been deeply against such a law." 

The claps that resounded across the chamber made Sirius smile, as he could see the Light's support for the measure crumble. Before he sat down he looked at a disappointed Dumbledore, "Chief Warlock, when this motion is defeated, don't assume this is the end of the matter. I will be bringing the absence of several elective courses from the curriculum of Hogwarts before the Board of Governors. I as Lord Black won't have any Children of Black Blood receiving an incomplete education and I am sure that other Heads of Houses and Governors will not stand for it concerning their children either." Suffice to say, the proposed ban was defeated and several Neutral and Dark Faction Heads personally thanked him and discussed the matter of suppar education. 

Speaking of the Board of Governors. "Lord Black", Sirius turned around and gave a soft bow of his head. "Lord Malfoy. How are my cousin and her son? Anxious about him going off to Hogwarts I assume?" Lucius clearly wasn't expecting such a fond interaction. "Indeed. Our Draco is currently reading up on several potions texts. He wants to impress his godfather and future Head of House." Sirius nods his head. "I thought as much. I hear Snape is quite the exacting teacher." Lucius walks at pace with Sirius through the halls of the Ministry. "He is. At least the students who pass know how to brew properly. And speaking of proper education, are you serious about going to the Governors concerning the Hogwarts coursework?" Lucius' face seemed to freeze for a second, and Sirius smiled.

"As much as I would love to answer with a pun, the matters are important enough for me to behave, Lord Malfoy. And I can assure you, I will be bringing the missing courses to the Board personally. There is no reason Hogwarts should not be teaching Alchemy, Dueling, Ritual Magic, Spell Creation, Healing and Magical Crafting. Beauxbatons has no problem teaching them along with a few others, and I imagine that no Malfoy would allow the French to out match one of his own." Lucius' indignant "certainly not!" made Sirius nod. "I have no problem with us working together on this matter Malfoy. Narcissa has gone a long way in repairing the divide between our houses. I would certainly like to see her work bear fruit." Lucius looked him in the eye and bowed his head a bit. "Then I will do my part as well."

-ᛦ-

  
  


"Hey Dad?" Rhea saw Sirius put his papers down. "Yes?" The Lord Black office now resembled a proper office and not an abandoned museum exhibit. Fixing the Ancient wards had taken well over a year's time, though much of the proper work had been done in the last two months. Seraphina had been adamant that no Prasinos' child would ever grow up in a substandard environment, no matter what last name she wore. So of course the first thing she did was send a Wardmaster from the States, a member of the offshoot Greene family. Apparently managing a family in four continents took too much out of Seraphina's predecessor and so the family was divided along the Atlantic. Didn't stop the Matriarch from getting a relative to cross the pond and do a rush order. The best Galleons Sirius had spent, minus the ones that went to Sabrina's necklace. Rhea could see the dopey smile on his face whenever her mom wore it for him to see. Bloody Neanderthal. 

"Chieftain Ragnok sent me a letter. They hit a wall on the Break-in at Gringotts and, while they would rather keep the issue in house, they want to know if you would be willing to help." Sirius taps his fountain pen to his lips, Rhea smiling since he now exclusively uses her and mom's gifts. She was already working on a few sets to pass along to the rest of the family. Though the ones for the Malfoy's would definitely have to wait. At least Andromeda was chipper now after having two luncheons with Narcissa. "Hmm, I wouldn't be against it, but I don't know what I could do about it. It isn't Wizengamot business and while Amelia and her Aurors would do the arrest, they can't do it without a clue as to who it was."

Rhea nodded, "Chieftain Ragnok said something similar. He asked since you recently got the ear of the Hogwarts Board. Since the item was in a vault co-owned by Dumbledore and Flamel, they think Dumbledore might use the school to store the item." Sirius frowned, "I could definitely see that. I think I remember reading a Board notice about Dumbledore requesting permission to alter the wards somewhere in the castle, "for the students safety" it read." Rhea shrugged, "That would be my guess. The Flamels told Chieftain Ragnok not to worry about the item, since they already have that covered and to focus on the thief." 

Sirius pulled out a bit of parchment, "I will let Amelia know that the thief is likely to target Hogwarts and that Dumbledore might try to interfere. That should get the old goat's whiskers in a twist. With the Board pressuring him on the restoring courses, it could help keep him of balance." He was a few words in on the page when he suddenly stopped and looked at Rhea. "Wait, why is the Director of Gringotts London sending you letters?" Rhea smiled, "Well how else was he going to ask me to take part in the Goblin's Samhain rites?" Rhea giggled and ran off, a black dog chasing after her as Sabrina laughed nearby. 

-ᛦ-

Lucius Malfoy, Cyrus Greengrass and Augusta Longbottom all sat in the conference room Sirius had rented from the Goblins. Ever since the Samhain rites, the Goblins have become all but guiddy in their interactions with him, Rhea and Sabrina. So when he offhandedly mentioned in front of Rhea that he really needed to find a safe place to hold a meeting with several members of the Board of Governors, his little Marauder sent out a missive to the Goblins. They had the room ready less than 2 days later, just in time for the Easter Break holidays. Sirius was sure that by the time his girl graduated from Hogwarts, she would likely own half of Wizarding Britain, and no one would be the wiser.

"Amelia has told me that Dumbledore has refused all attempts at having the school inspected. Even with the reports of Unicorns of all things dying in larger numbers in the Forbidden Forest. Ordinarily I wouldn't be concerned, until Lord Malfoy mentioned an incident with a Troll _inside_ of the halls of Hogwarts itself. So, have either of you been informed by the Headmaster about this breach of the school wards." By the look on both Augusta and Cyrus' face he would say no. Lucius coughed dramatically, "I myself was not informed either by the staff. Instead it was my own son, Draco who informed me of it. Apparently he had written a letter informing me, but no such letter arrived."

Augusta looked appalled, "Are you saying someone is interfering with mail out of Hogwarts?" Cyrus stepped in, "No, I think he is saying that Dumbledore is interfering with the mail our children are sending home. This is something that can't be allowed to continue. It's likely that other information has been filtered out and we haven't been aware of it." Sirius looked over at Lucius and invited him to add his two knuts. "I am certain there is. Draco also mentioned that Professor Quirrell's performance as DADA instructor has been subpar at best, useless at the worst." When both Augusta and Cyrus looked at him questionably he added, "As my Heir, I saw fit to give Draco some advanced tutoring in dueling and defense, something I know your wife did for young Daphne and don't think about complaining Augusta, since I am certain young Neville has been getting tutoring a long with Potter's Heir." 

After seeing the two Governor suitably chastised, Sirius gets to the heart of the matter "Regardless of the extra curricular studies all the students from Noble Families are taking, the danger of having a teacher instructing a core subject poorly, let alone Defense, cannot be estimated. Students taking their OWLs and NEWTs this year are likely to suffer from this worst of all and many of the core Ministry jobs require an above average score in Defense. I asked you all here because these matters fall under the purview of the Board of Governors. The least I am asking is that the Board approves an Inspection of the Castle and its wards. While we are here, we can also discuss the matter of the missing electives."

3 hours and a luncheon later, the meeting disbanded. Sirius was actually happy to see Lucius take such an active role in his son's education. Part of him wishes that his own father, Orion, had done as well. But for now, this is the best he can manage.

-ᛦ-

  
  


The inspection of Hogwarts didn't start up until after the academic year had ended. Sirius and his Faction on the Board had been disgusted with the more Light leaning members allowing Dumbledore to stall the matter until it stopped, quite literally, from being a concern. Because Quirrell was declared dead, the Third Floor Corridor had been scrubbed clean and the incident had been all but ignored. Except Dumbledore awarded points, well past the cut-off date, to Gryffindor House for whatever had happened with Quirrell and the Philosopher's Stone. If Rhea had been at school, Sirius would probably have challenged Dumbledore to a duel. Sabrina herself admitted that she wouldn't have even bothered. She knew of quite a few ways to kill a man without any trace whatsoever, prompting Sirius to consider taking her somewhere lovely this summer. Probably Spain, since he was already making a pit stop in France.

Not only had Rhea properly guessed that the item in the Vault at Gringotts was supposed to be Flamel's Philosopher Stone, but she had persuaded him to mail the Flamels after the whole incident had been reported to the Board. The Flamels had been decidedly annoyed with Dumbledore, who somehow failed to realise the stone he received was an incomplete Philosopher Stone, utterly worthless, but the man assumed it was the only one in creation. Rhea actually laughed at that, saying that if the Flamels had made the original within their own natural lifespan, it meant they had more than enough time to make several more. His quote of his daughter's deduction in his letter apparently endeared her to them. So now he, Sabrina and Rhea were going to meet the famous Alchemists in France for the summer. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea, putting a Necromancer in the same room as an Immortal Alchemist, but Sirius decided to just leave it alone. At the very least, if shit went down at Hogwarts, they had the best references for Beauxbatons.

Regardless, Dumbledore's stunt had lost him some points with the Board, he could no longer bring any Magical Artifacts into the school. The Board was going to reinstate the missing electives in a year or two, depending how hard it is to find adequate instructors, though how Dumbledore retained the right to higher the DADA professor was something he still had to wrap his head around. For the moment Sirius, with some help from Lucius, would put pressure on some of the less enthusiastic members of the Board to see if anyone would vacate their seat. He could have technically asked Rhea to invoke Founders Heir Privilege, but Sirius didn't want to use that yet. Dumbledore held one to many posts in the magical world, but his position at Hogwarts was probably the most important to him and whatever his plans were. Sabrina had agreed that the best way to remove Dumbledore as an issue was to strip him of his status as Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump. After that, getting him out of Hogwarts would be too easy. 

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


Rhea could tell Sirius wanted to run. He was probably itching to change into Padfoot and run for the woods. Of course, being in the Prasinos Family property meant he wouldn't get far. The wards were heavy. Even she could tell they were strong, stronger than they were when her parents had brought her here the first time. And if Rhea was honest with herself, she wanted to run too. One thousand pairs of eyes focused on her as she prepared to lead the Samhain ritual in front of the combined presence of the Greene and Prasinos Families. When Seraphina said she would "help" her and her family get ready for when her skillset as a Necromancer was revealed to the world, Rhea had assumed it meant surreptitious changes to laws, bribery, blackmail. Hell, maybe some assassinations. It wasn't her fault Seraphina reminded her of Al Pacino in _The Godfather_ , the woman was scary when she got excited about something. 

Rhea rubbed the bridge of her nose as she straightened her back. At least Jacques was fine. He was bald now, but that wrongness she felt in him is gone. Maybe that's why Seraphina decided to become her official grandmother. Mom had been happy about that but Dad looked like he sucked a lemon. Well, Grandma Sarah does like her tea with lemon, so maybe there was too much lemon in his tea. Or it could just be the fact that she had asked them to visit atleast once a year. Yeah, that feels right. Speaking about Grandmothers, Rhea looked over to the Altar. She had talked to Selene the year before while she performed the rites with the Albion Goblins. She was happy that Rhea wore her bracelet and gave her some cool stories about mom as a kid. This year… she wanted to call Dorea. 

Sirius hated talking about her sperm and egg donors (mom's idea) and had instead talked about Charlus and Dorea. She refused to ever call up a Potter. She didn't want to have anything to do with them. But Dorea had been a Black. She was Sirius' Great Aunt, like Chantal had been to Mom. And she had died keeping her alive. Henry too, but if the papers are anything to go by he was a prat. Rhea steeled herself. She was going to do it. She took her place at the center of the gathering.

The people gathered for the ceremony each gave their own version of the prayer for the departed, a multitude of languages, gods and goddesses stretching across the distant lands of four continents. As Rhea uttered the celtic words of calling, she felt the world go cold. Her Death Magic now covered the clearing. So many lives, so many souls. Some were fading which made her heart clench and eyes water with unshed tears, but so many were bright. She felt an echo. At least, it felt like an echo. Thousands of whispers moved around her, seeking the loved ones who spoke their name. So, as the Ritual Call of the Spirits reached its end, Rhea spoke her own prayer. "Oh Persephone, on this night of Samhain I wish to commune with the spirit of one of my blood twice over. Oh Persephone, goddess of the realm beyond the Veil, allow a speaker for the grave the chance to speak with one from within your domain. Oh Persephone, filled with love and compassion for the departed souls, grant me a night's watch in which to speak to one who died in my stead. Dorea Violetta Potter née Black." 

-ᛦ-

  
  


Sabrina woke up, one of the last it seemed. All around here she could see her relatives, Greene and Prasinos alike making their way back to Manor, many with tearful but grateful eyes. She knew why Seraphina and her cousin Cassandra Greene had called this gathering. After tonight, there was no going back. The Greene and Prasinos Families would live the magic that was Rhea, and they would defend her to the end. She may be a Black, but the blessing of a moment's heart to heart with the departed may as well make her an honorary member for every single person here. But right now none of that mattered. Only Rhea did. She weaved her way through the few who were still out cold as she neared the altar. There, at its center, was Rhea, her mind still within the Veil. Sabrina nealt beside her, casting warming and cushioning charms on and around her 12 year old girl. 

She felt Sirius slip in behind her, joining her quiet vigil, his arms wrapped around her waist, his chest to her back. Though both of them were cold the contact of their magics would help chase the cold of the grave away. There would be a lot of physical closeness among the two families, though no true intimacy. It wasn't forbidden or taboo, but anyone who went through the ritual would know. It just wasn't proper. Tonight was a day for the living and the dead to meet. Acts of the living alone would come later. 

As the sun began to set the horizon ablaze, Sabrina was getting worried. Rhea was the last to wake. Everyone else was already inside, except for herself and Sirius. She was about to voice her concern when Rhea took a deep breath and her eyes opened. She went straight into Sabrina's arms and cried. She had held her daughter as she cried, many, many times. These tears were coming from deep inside her daughter, deeper than the terrors of the past. It felt as if she were crying from her very soul. Sirius, bless her man, moved a bit and pulled both of them into a hug, his head pressed against Rhea's. Eventually she calmed down, but she refused to let go of Sabrina. 

"I was with Dorea." Her words were soft, as if confessing a sin. "She told me. How she had been there that night. How she kept us safe." Rhea got choked up, needing a bit of time before continuing. "Her spell worked. But something went weird. She got stuck to me." She moved her head and pressed herself against Sirius' shoulder. "She was with me Dad. Everyday. She saw _everything_." Sirius stilled at that, and Sabrina could understand. To know that a woman who had been more of a mother to him than the one who bore him had been forced to watch her own granddaughter be abused, raped and practically left for dead and could do nothing … she could scarcely imagine her pain. Rhea seemed to pull herself out of a memory, a sign that she had definitely healed since that moment in Gringotts. She hoped it got easier. 

Rhea looked over at her and smiled, her eyes red and tear tracks across her cheeks, "She brought me to you Mom. My magic …" hic, "…that night…" hic, " …it woke up. Like our first Samhain. She was able to hold me. Pulled me through the Veil. She took me to … you." Rhea then buried her head in Sabrina's shoulder, who proceeded to gently rub her daughters back. She couldn't bear to look at Sirius right now. She would break down too. As soon as Rhea was asleep in her arms she strengthened her occlumency barriers and her body. She carried her daughter in her arms, Sirius quietly walking behind her. She had a lot to think about that day. But sleep would come first. And then a bloody altar for Dorea Black. The woman's spirit deserved as much.

-ᛦ-

Rhea refused to go to Dorea's grave on the Day of the Dead. She promised that one day she would, but not right now. Rhea eventually confessed that she didn't leave the Veil sooner because she had been unraveling the tether between her Grandmother and her. She succeeded just as the light of the sun breached her space. Dorea was free now to be with her husband and siblings in the grave. Rhea wouldn't interrupt them, even if time was weird on the other side. It just didn't feel right. Seraphina and Cassandra took her family's somber mood well. They knew not to press. Cassandra could tell that none of them wanted to go home, but staying wasn't any better. She offered to take them in at a family vacation home in the States. Mom didn't fight it, nor did Dad.

Rhea had to admit, the place was great. A small Southern Style home in Louisiana. The air felt rich with wild, untouched magic, and that was ignoring the wards. The house was on a bayou, far away from the bustle of people. They arrived at night and they all went straight to bed. The sound of the insects and river had lulled her to sleep. The moment they all got up, everyone was just standing in the kitchen. The weird feeling broke when Rhea hugged her parents and said she loved them. At lunch, a lovely lady by the name of Josephine Greene came by and took them out to experience the sights. The beach they visited was really nice, the water still warm, though Josephine said it would get cold soon. 

Rhea gave Josephine a necklace made of shells she had been collecting all day. When Josephine asked why, Rhea pointed at her parents. Josephine had taken her Mom and Dad separately to get their swimwear, so when Mom took off her shirt and pants, Dad had gone mute. He followed her like a puppy all day, getting all lovey with her. Rhea prayed to the Goddess that she didn't take after her dad when it came to love. She didn't want to look like an idiot, no matter how loveable. That night Rhea had personally set the silencing charms everywhere in the house. Their first Beltane had been mortifying enough. They spent two more nights in the vacation home before heading back to Britain. Rhea hoped her new Familiar didn't mind portkeys (it did!). 

-ᛦ-

Sirius was sure the other half of the Board of Governors were just plain stupid. How was it ok to ignore a monster petrifying students just because Dumbledore said so? Sure, ignoring the cat that was petrified on Samhain could maybe be excused, but the fact something was capable of paralyzing a cat beyond a healers skill to fix it on the spot should have been a big clue that something bad was going to happen. About a month later a First Generation Wizard (Rhea had kicked his chin when he said muggleborn) had been petrified. Sirius would have loved to have stepped in, called the Aurors and let them settle the matter. But Dumbledore had to skirt the rules, again! 

He had been required to notify the Board of Governors about the incident, but the bastard only notified one of his close friends and told him everything was under control and that he didn't need to inform the rest. He also told the students that the Hoard had been notified the morning after the incident. So Sirius and Lucius only became aware that things were getting worse when a Half-blood Prefect got petrified, along with a first gen witch friend of Henry's. They managed to catch the lie and got Dumbledore suspended, and his friend on the board of Governors was dismissed. Sirius applied for the open seat, as did James Potter, but thanks to his work with the Board and his strong position on improving the education of the school, coupled with the Black Family having held a seat since the Board's inception, Sirius obtained the seat without much difficulty. 

Word of the change of the guard must have reached the school because whoever had been responsible quickly took one Ginny Weasley hostage into the so-called Chamber of Secrets. Henry, displaying the infamous Potter luck, managed to rescue the girl and kill the monster. Dumbledore managed to convince the Board to return, but Sirius was about to make him wish he had taken his leave all the way to the end of term. 

"So, we now have established that the culprit of all the petrifications as a shade of a person stored in a book." Sirius noted that Malfoy looked ill at the mention of the book. "As the matter has been handled, at least in your own words, Headmaster, you feel it that the Board should close its investigations entirely." Dumbledore nodded, "That is correct."

Sirius leafed through the report and stopped on a certain interview. "And you say that all depositions as established in this report are truthful?" Dumbledore looked confused as to why he was asking, "as far as I know they are entirely truthful." Sirius sighed, "What of the matter of Gilderoy Lockhart?" Dumbledore looked unconcerned, "Lockhart is currently held at St. Mungos. They don't expect his memory to return. As such there is no way of charging him for his crimes prior to Hogwarts." Sirius was looking at Dumbledore with murder in his eyes. "My concern is with potential victims _inside_ the school. Your report states that he was an accomplished obliviator. So did it ever cross your mind that you may have _students_ suffering memory loss who could be the victims of molestation or rape!" 

The sudden intakes of breath in the room made it clear that no one else had even considered that. Dumbledore, ever the apologist, tried to calm everyone, "I am sure that Gilderoy wouldn't have dared to…", "attempt the obliviation of minors, with the intent that they suffer physical harm or death. I believe you provided the evidence that he did just that. I move for immediate examinations of the student body and staff by St. Mungos healers for any sign of obliviation and sexual assault, and I swear, if the next words out of your mouth aren't "I concur" Albus, I will personally see you charged with obstruction into possible criminal offenses against minors! I am sure Madam Bones would love to add her own experiences to the case!"

Dumbledore wisely kept his mouth shut. The healers did eventually arrive and much to the shock of the Board and staff, _three_ 7th year girls were found with signs of rape and obliviation. The story broke on the Daily Prophet, though they kept the identity and years of the victims quiet. The incident drove a massive wedge between the Neutral leaning Light members and the rest of the Light Faction. Dumbledore's ability to hire teachers without Board approval was also revoked, as was any warding on the school grounds that could block or redirect mail. From now on, Hogwarts would be watched very closely.

Sirius did manage to corner Lucius Malfoy after the last meeting of the Board of Governors. After raising the strongest privacy wards he could, Sirius turned on Lucius, "On the life of your son, tell me you didn't know about that book!" Lucius looked like he was about to protest but he just… deflated in front of him. "I knew the book existed but I had no idea the book made its way to the school. I swear on my magic." Sirius stared at Lucius, "I imagine it belonged to the former Dark Lord." Lucius nodded. "Then are you prepared to see your own son branded like you should he rise again?!" Lucius clearly wanted to say something, any but his words just failed him as he collapsed on the floor. "I have tried everything to get it off. I looked everywhere, called in curse-breakers and wardmasters from all of Europe. None could help me!" 

Sirius stared at his cousin-in-law, "If I could find someone to remove the Mark from you and more like minded repentant Death Eaters, what would you do?" Lucius gaped at the man, not believing what he was hearing. "Believe me Lucius, a part of me would wish I could drop you, Snape and Nott in Azkaban and throw away the key. But you made a life for yourself, you have a son! I know exactly what goes in your head the moment he is in danger. If I can get the bloody Mark off your and your friend's arms, will you help me bury Voldemort and Dumbledore?" 

Lucius stands up and stares right at Sirius' eyes, "Why?" Sirius's struggles for a moment but decides that now is as good a time as any. "Because I don't want my daughter to live through what we lived through. Dumbledore and Voldemort are not the type of wizards to let things go. For my daughter, for your son, I am willing to let go and do everything in my power to leave our society better than when we were kids. Are you?" Lucius stares at Sirius for a moment. "For them… yes. I will help you. What do you need?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you liked what I did with Dorea's story. More on her and her past will be revealed later. Yes there is a new Familiar for Rhea. No it isn't Hedwig, as Hedwig feels more appropriate to Henry in the irony of the name refering to his orphaned sister he never knew he had. Also the sweet irony that Saint Hedwig of Silesia was married to a Henry was too much of a coincidence to look past. I had originally wanted Rhea's familiar to join her at the end of the Samhain ritual but her moment with Dorea and the effect it would have on the family took a life of its own. Oddly enough, the familiar joining her in a place full of wild magic felt more natural. 
> 
> As for Rhea's prayer, I had originally wanted to use a Celtic deity but none felt right, despite the awesome stories others have writen with them. Persephone was one of my first introductions into myths and gods of old and while we tend to associate her more with Demeter, she is also Hades' Queen. Couldn't pass on a deity so full of contradictions and so beloved. Her being Greek in origin only ties her better as Sabrina was Rhea's introduction to her. 
> 
> Next Chapter is Summer before 3rd Year. Hope you look forward to it. Leave comments if you liked the chapter.


	7. Summer Days and Meetings on a Train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to everyone who has liked and commented my story so far. It really helps in keeping one motivated, though sleep sounds so good right now. The Black-Prasinos Family gets ready for the new normal and everyone has to do their part. Hope you enjoy, even if its a bit short.

Sirius was in a tough spot. Dumbledore went through the proper channels and submitted Remus Lupin's resume at the first Board Meeting of the summer. Everything was in order, exactly as it should be, minus one glaring omission. There was no mention of Moony's furry little problem. Were it any other job and were he in any other position, he would have let it slide. But he was a member of the Board and if he signed off on it without saying a word and something happened to a student, he would never forgive himself. He thought of Rhea, finally entering Hogwarts. He thought of his own 5th year and almost getting Snape and Remus killed. There was no choice.

"Headmaster, why has your candidate for the DADA position failed to list his status as a victim of Lycanthropy?" Sirius could tell that both Dumbledore and McGonagall were surprised by his action, Dumbledore cleared his throat, "I didn't think you would bring it up. You yourself struck down a bill aimed at hampering their ability to find work." Sirius didn't take the bait, "I helped defeat a discriminatory law that made no provision to give victims of Lycanthropy the necessary safeguards in order to do their work at no harm to others. I am a member of the Board of Governors and securing the students safety is one of my duties. The absence of his condition on the document also shows an absence of documentation on any safety measures you as Headmaster would take to safeguard the student population during the full moon, in an environment where your professor can't head home to lock himself away with or without a dose of wolfsbane."

While Dumbledore looked annoyed, Minerva looked ashamed. It seemed she didn't know about Albus' attempt to hide the truth from the Board. Sirius pressed on, "Based on past experiences, I believe Mr. Lupin would make a suitable instructor for Defense against the Dark Arts and I would personally be happy to sign his application, but only if you provide a solid plan that ensures both Mr. Lupin's and the school's wellbeing." The meeting ended soon afterwards, with Sirius feeling a little sick but not regretting his choice in the least. When he described the meeting to Rhea and Sabrina the two hugged him warmly, Sabrina going as far as kissing him in a surprisingly tender moment. 

That night he received two very strongly worded letters from James and Moony. Sabrina didn't leave his side for a week. Dumbledore submitted a safety plan to allow Remus to teach at Hogwarts safely. Sirius made him write a second one before he signed it. Wards on the Shrieking Shack alone didn't stop him from almost getting Snape killed years ago when he was a student and it is not likely to do much better now, especially when who knew what was going on with Voldemort and Dumbledore still playing with the lives of innocents. Informing the students and having Moony locked up in a Reinforced Silver Cage until sunrise in the Dungeons under Snape's supervision should hopefully make sure everyone goes home in one piece. He wasn't one of Mad-eye's best students for nothing.

-ᛦ-

  
  


Seraphina didn't have a Parseltongue curse-breaker as a member of the family, but they did have one working for them in India. While Sabrina would have loved to quiz him on Subcontinental rituals, he was sadly pressed for time and refused to speak his real name. It was a safety measure among Indian curse-breakers apparently. So Sabrina decided to focus on the next pressing matter; Rhea spending 10 months of the year away from home. They had already made plans for all Hogsmeade weekends and for Yule and Easter Breaks. Sirius had even prepared to get her dispensation to leave Hogwarts for Samhain, Imbolc and Beltaine. The added bonus of communications mirrors and Rhea's red eyed, pitch black owl familiar, Nyx, would certainly make sure there wasn't any chance of losing touch with her.

That didn't mean Sabrina didn't get anxious. The ladies back at the shop said she was getting the symptoms of "empty nest syndrome." She didn't disagree and while their suggestion of having her way with Sirius as often as possible wasn't unpleasant, it didn't make her anxiety go down any less. Rhea had been the focus of her attention for 4 years now. A part of her couldn't remember a time when Rhea wasn't in her life, and she was happy for that. Sabrina sighed. She knew she was likely to get back to more potions experiments, but her life now also included being by Sirius's side, as his potential Lady Black. She was not looking forward to all the socializing that would entail. So she decided to start small. While Lucius was getting poked and prodded by their Indian friend, she was going to meet Andromeda's sister and Lucius' wife, Narcissa. 

She found her at "Twilfitt and Tattings", picking up some packages. "Lady Malfoy." She could feel Narcissa's scrutinizing gaze rove her body. Apparently it is a Black trait. "Yes?" Sabrina curtsied, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Sabrina Prasinos. Your husband is currently being serviced by an employee of my family and I felt it prudent to meet you." Narcissa lifted her eyebrow. "I thought he was meeting with someone else." Sabrina smiled, recognizing an attempt to catch her in a lie. "As fun as playing who can outsmart whom can be, I personally prefer a more upfront approach. You didn't think your cousin was vanishing every month for nothing, right?" 

Ahh, there was the patented "are you good enough for family" scrutiny. She was so happy Andromeda had skipped that phase. Then again, telling her how she had stunned, bound and pulled the truth out of Sirius' mouth had probably earned her that repreve. Narcissa, however, wasn't impressed. "I feel like I have heard the name Prasinos, but I can't be certain. Continental?" Sabrina smiled, "Born and raised. Been in Britain for a bit over a decade now, but decided to have some quiet time for myself and my daughter." Narcissa nodded, "how old?" Sabrina had a bittersweet smile, "13 next week. Left her home with Kreacher. Don't ask me how she got on his good side, even Sirius is too scared to get it out of Kreacher, orders or not." 

Narcissa pointed towards a café nearby and they both sat down and ordered some coffee. "That reminds me of my sister, Bella. She got on well with Kreacher and the elf would always get her some extra pastries after dessert." Sabrina laughed, "Don't I know it. Kreacher has been doing the same with Rhea. At least Rhea has the good sense of letting me know when she gets them." Narcissa took a sip of her coffee, "My Draco would often order extra dessert from the elves in his room. I don't think he knows I am aware and that I gave them instructions on how much he can eat." The two enjoy their time together and plan to meet up again, with Andy getting an invite. As they are about to stand up and leave, a voice cuts into their pleasant time, "Must admit, I didn't expect to run into you out here, Narcissa." Narcissa's eyes narrow as she turns towards the redhead. "Nor I you, _Lily_. Running errands for your husband?" 

The redhead keeps her eyes on Narcissa, who certainly takes notice of a change in the magic around them. Before Lady Potter gets another word in, Sabrina addresses Narcissa directly, "Well, it's been a pleasure Narcissa. I look forward to spending more time with your family. I'll let you pick when we should meet and see if Andy is free to join us. Good afternoon." Sabrina bows softly at Narcissa before steadily walking away, her magic barely controlled. She certainly loses control when someone grabs her arm, a zap of magic forcing the person to let go. "A bit of advice? The Malfoy's aren't the best people to get to know." Sabrina turns towards the redhead, giving her a very condescending smile. "Ah, then allow me to give you some advice back, _Lady Potter_. Best not to assume who is and isn't the best to talk to here. The most dangerous people tend to be the ones you have never heard of." With that Sabrina leaves Lily Evans-Potter behind, the latter feeling as if she just had a run in with death. 

Rhea could tell that something had bothered her mom when she returned home and went straight to the Master Bedroom. She had Kreacher make some of her favorite foods when she isn't feeling the best, pushed her Dad straight to their Room, told him about Kreacher's preparations and told him she'd see him in the morning. The Silencing spells took a beating that night, but they held, while Rhea kept practicing some magic with her familiar. Rhea had been giddy with excitement when she could align her magic with Nyx' perfectly. The two would often be seen staring at each other, the latter giggling every once in a while. Sirius had at first called it creepy, before he found the owl seemingly stalking him wherever he went. He eventually apologized to Rhea, who hugged him warmly. 

-ᛦ-

  
  


Dad had said that Diagon Alley got full around August when the students started preparing for school. He wasn't kidding and she could now understand why so many wixen would buy their potions supplies at her mom's shop. While her mom and Lady Malfoy had wanted to introduce her to her cousin Draco in the summer, Rhea had simply said that she'd meet him on the train or at Hogwarts. She wanted to meet him where he didn't need to put a mask for his parents. Narcissa begrudgingly agreed, though they did agree to a Black Family get together after Yule. 

After spending some time getting school robes (Rhea thanked her goddess she could get them modified slightly, no way she was wearing a skirt without some leggings underneath. Or without her boots), Sabrina led Rhea to the one shop they had to visit that day. Pushing in the door, they could feel the magic in the air, thousands of wands stored away in boxes littered the whole shop. "Ah, I must admit, you are not my usual customers." Stepping up to his side of the desk came a man with white hair and piercing eyes. Those eyes focused on Sabrina first. "I don't believe I had the pleasure of selling you the wand you carry. May I see it?" Sabrina nodded and took out her wand from her wrist holster. Olivander held the wand in his palms reverently and brought the wand to his ear. "Olive wood, 13 inches. Firm. The core is … oh my. A Harpy's feather. Haven't seen such a wand since my last visit to Spain. May I ask who is the wandmaker?"

Sabrina took back her wand. "I wish I could say. The one who made it is family and none are sold to outsiders. I am sure you understand." Olivander nods. "My daughter here had been tested by them to see if they could find or make her wand. They found that none of theirs would match. We are wondering if you might have one that would match her." Olivander smiled. "Ah, a tricky customer. Lets see, which is your wand arm young lady?" Rhea shook her head, "Both, sir." After the wandmaker's measurements were done he spent some time looking at her. "I must admit, young lady, I am hesitant to give you a wand to try. I imagine many would react poorly to you. But I do have a few that I thought I would never sell. Perhaps they would suit you better." He brought many close to her, but before placing it in her hands he would put it away. He brought out a box he held tightly and pulled out a wand. "Vinewood, 11 inches. Phoenix tail feather."

He placed it in her hand and for a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the sound of a bird's cry was heard, the wood caught on fire and quickly burned to ash. Olivander looked at the former wand now turned to ash and then back at a shocked Rhea's face. "Not to worry, dear. That wand had been made as three of a set. I had expected it's rightful owner to walk through those doors one day soon. But perhaps it is better it saw its end. Now lets see." He went back into his rows of wands and remained missing for close to half an hour. He then came out, holding a gray wand box, covered in dust. "This wand is not one of mine, but instead it is my fathers. His last wand before he passed away. He worked long and hard to get it right. Perhaps it is time it sees the light of day." 

The wand he took out was beautiful, a gray color, wrapped in celtic symbols and runes, the carvings heavier in the base before smoothing out towards the tip. He presented the wand to Rhea who took it gently into her hand. The air grew cold and still as magic poured into the wand. Then a howl was heard, sounding far away, yet close at hand. Olivander gave her a sad smile, "Yew, 12 inches. Grim's tail hair. Unwieldable to all but you, I am afraid. A Grim never gives it loyalty but to one. It will not tolerate another's magic. Take good care of it young lady, unless you should take up wand making, I doubt you'd see the like again." After buying a wand holster and service kit, Rhea and Sabrina were about to leave the store, whe Rhea turned back to Olivander.

"Sir. Your father, did he by chance see the Grim at Kensal Green Cemetery in London?" Olivander nodded, "That he did. He was burying his old friend Charles Babbage. He thought it odd for a Grim to let itself be touched. As soon as he took the tail hair, the Grim vanished. I take it you yourself are familiar with it?" Rhea nodded. "Yes, sir. He is my friend." Olivander looked at her straight in the eyes. "Take good care of all your friends and family, my Lady Peverell. But most importantly, take good care of yourself."

-ᛦ-

  
  


On a lone island in the North Sea a solitary shadow moved through the mostly empty passageways. The sound of mad wizards and witches would often echo from cell to cell, leading to long nights of endless noise and madness. The night guards themselves were always quiet, their shadowy forms melding into the walls in the low light. The only way any of the inmates knew the guards were about was the cold. The prison and its cells were always cold but never as cold as when the guards gaze was upon you. On that night she felt their gaze upon her almost constantly, as if they knew she was planning to escape. Perhaps they did. They eventually moved on and she sighed. 

12 Years. She had been in the cursed prison beyond the shores of Britain for 12 long years. In that time she had waited for death, even welcomed it, but it never answered. Not once. She remembered the last orders her husband had given her. How could she not? They would repeat themselves in her head over and over again, even as she never saw him again when they were both sentenced to life imprisonment. She wished the voice would go silent. The only times it did was when she meditated. She had to thank her beloved cousin for teaching her the meditations when they were both students at Hogwarts. It was the only thing that kept her sane in her cell.

What had surprised her was actually achieving the purpose the meditation was designed for. Her cousin had given up and used a potion, getting his form early. She had no means of getting the potion, but the meditations helped and she had been surprised where they led her. The trees, the plants and the noises of the night were all unfamiliar. They reminded her of books she had read as a teen, written by muggles. They told tales of far off jungles in Africa and the Americas. Places full of life and wonder, but also predators and death. She had felt dead leaves and wood underneath her hands and feet. Her body was longer, leaner, more graceful. Her ears picked up every sound around her. 

It was her eyes though that had given her the greatest delight. Here, in the place where she could dwell in peace and quiet, her eyes would show her a beautiful night sky. Once she was out of the dense trees and plants she could see the starry night. She could look up and see the stars whose names were shared with her Most Noble and Most Ancient Family. She could see the ones whose names matched those of her beloved cousin and sisters. In her mind she could hear their voices and see their smiles. It felt like home. The illusion would break every morning when the human guards would check the cells and bring the food. She hated these guards most. The shadowy creatures may force her to relive her worst memories, but these bastards kept adding whole new ones. She had never hated herself as much as she did now, but she hated the human guards more.

So, one night late into July, the woman forgot she was a woman. Her body took on the graceful form of the beast that gave her freedom in her meditations. Her emaciated body allowed her to squeeze through the bars of her home of 13 years. She walked the corridors of the prison and all but panicked when she felt the cold against her skin. The living shadows that were guards saw her. They stared at her with empty eyes and she thought that perhaps death would finally take her in tonight. Just as she felt the cold linger it soon left. The guards left her alone. Her graceful body rushed through halls of stone and bars of steel. Then she found a set of bars that carried a different smell behind them. It smelled of salt and fresh air. She squeezed through these bars and tumbled. The floor would eventually catch up to her and her arms and legs stung in pain, but the scent of stone was mixed with water and salt filled her lungs.

She followed the paths of stone, both shaped by nature and man, until she reached a pier. There was no boat and she would likely be caught if she waited for one. So she took the direction of the pier as her own and threw herself into the water. She felt the bite of the cold but didn't mind it, the night guards felt colder. Breathing was hard, keeping her head above the water, but she refused to concede. She had welcomed death in a cage but she would fight to live in the wilds of an open world. The feline lost track of time, her muscles aching, her lungs coughing up water, but eventually she got her wish. She didn't know where she was but her paws were now on sand and the air smelled of dirt and grass. Her body shifted and the feline remembered she was a woman. She fell on her back and began to laugh and cry. She was free! 

It wasn't long before the incessant voice of her husband shattered her peace. She had ignored it before but she was free now. She could hunt the brat down and kill him. Then the voice could finally go quiet and leave her alone. Her mind resolved, she took on her feline form once more. The night was too cold for a woman's skin and her stomach was too empty. Time to find something to eat.

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


Rhea sat down in the empty train compartment, watching other Hogwarts students and their parents milling about, and saying their goodbyes. Rhea herself had said her goodbyes much earlier, not wanting to be caught with unpleasant company. Her mom really took it hard and she had begged her dad to take care of her. Especially out of the bedroom. That had made them all laugh, which is what they needed. She had sent Nyx ahead on her own and had already shrunk her own trunk. All that was left was to wait and see what happened at Hogwarts. 

Someone opened the door and looked inside. "Excuse me, do you mind if I joined you. You have the least amount of Wrackspurts floating around your head. I wondered if you could share with me how you made them leave you alone." Rhea looked at the blonde girl wearing Ravenclaw colors and shrugged. "Your welcome to join me. Can't promise I will be a good conversationalist." The girl seemed to have trouble pulling in her trunk, so Rhea casted a feather weight spell and a shrinking spell. Luna looked at her much lighter and smaller trunk and back at Rhea. "Thank you." 

After placing her trunk above her head the young witch turned back and curtsied. "Merry met. I am Luna Lovegood, of the Lovegoods of Ottery St. Catchpole." Rhea smiled and bowed her head. "Merry met. I am Rhea Black, Heiress of House Black. Pleasure to meet you." Luna looked as if she were thinking of something far away. "Oh, was that your cousin who broke out of Azkaban?" Rhea sighed and softly banged her head against the headrest. Of all the things her dad had planned for, his cousin's escape from Azkaban had not been on the list. When the press asked him about it he made sure to reference the law stating that if, and a very big if, she requested asylum, it would be dad's choice to give it and that any member of the House of Black wasn't obligated to aid the Ministry in her retrieval. Head Auror Potter had not been amused. "Yeah, that caught us all by surprise." Luna nodded, pulled out a magazine called "The Quibbler" and started reading. 

A few minutes before the train started to move, the door opened again. This time there were two girls, both wearing Hufflepuff colors, one had nice dirty blonde hair while the other had pretty strawberry blonde hair in a ponytail. "Mind if we join you? The upper years are all hunkering together and the Slytherins and Gryffindors seem to be trying to see who can get the other house to go negative by the Starting Feast." For a second Rhea was looking at the girls speechless, until her occlumency barriers came down hard and she was able to respond clearly, though Luna did give her a weird look. "Sure…," Rhea looked at Luna who shook her head, "... we don't mind." After helping them get their trunks up on the racks, the blonde sat besides Rhea while the redhead sat by Luna. 

Rhea could tell the redhead was checking her out, unsure what to say until she spotted the heiress ring on her hand. She kicked her friend who yelped as she stood up and gave Rhea a respectful bow. "Merry met, Heiress. I am Susan Bones, Heiress of House Bones. My friend here is Hannah Abbott, Heiress of House Abbott." Rhea smiled and bowed her head softly, "Merry met, Heiress Bones and Heiress Abbott, I am Rhea Black, Heiress of House Black. I am unsure if you're acquainted with my companion here, Luna Lovegood." Luna looked at her oddly, apparently surprised to be brought into the discussion. "I wish to offer some apologies to you Heiress Bones. I believe my father, Lord Black, has been keeping your Aunt quite busy since taking his Seat. Not to mention the trouble my cousin is making since she fled Azkaban." 

Susan shook her head, "I appreciate the gesture but my Aunt Amelia loves her job. As for your cousin, well, there won't be a lot of people happy with that, especially with the Dementors at Hogwarts." Rhea stilled. "What do you mean the Dementors will be at Hogwarts?" Susan looked sad, "Because of Bellatrix Lestrange, Minister Fudge decided to post Dementors in and around Hogwarts, despite my Auntie saying that her Aurors can handle it. Dumbledore wanted to keep both of them out, but the Minister overruled him." Rhea took the time to count to ten in her head, in both English and Greek before she pulled out her communication mirror. She said "Dogfather" and a few seconds later Sirius' face appeared in the mirror. "Pup, we weren't expecting you to call till after the Feast." 

Rhea sighed "Sorry to bother you early Dad but Heiress Bones has informed me that the Minister is planning to have Dementors at Hogwarts. I am guessing neither he nor Dumbledore decided to inform the Governors." A few choice expletives were heard from the other side. "Also, do pass on an apology to Madam Bones, Lady Abbott and Mr. Lovegood. Pretty sure you just scandalized their daughters with your vocabulary." Sirius coughed dramatically, "Uhm, sorry young ladies. I didn't realize you were there. I will be sure to apologize for this. Rhea, do you mind looking after them? I am sure they are good kids and could use your help should the Dementors pay a visit to the train." 

"Sure! Have fun ripping Fudge and Dumbledore a new one. Grimpup off." The compartment is quiet as she puts her mirror away. Susan breaks the silence, "You and your Dad seem to have an interesting way with words." Rhea shrugged, "Dad has been having a hard time dealing with the bureaucrats since he came home. Mom taught me how to behave in public but that doesn't mean I don't take after her either. She can probably swear my Dad into the ground….if she wanted to." Susan shakes her head at her. "What did your dad mean by looking after us? And what year are you joining in, since I don't see any colors on your uniform." Rhea was about to answer when the door slammed open again. This time there was a blonde boy and two larger kids with him, almost like bodyguards. His eyes scanned the compartment and didn't find what he was looking for. Rhea did recognize him from a photo though and stood up and curtsied. "Merry met Heir Malfoy. I am Heiress Rhea Black. A pleasure to finally meet you, cousin."

It took a moment for Draco's brain to register before he gave her a bow. "The pleasure is mine cousin. Mom and Dad have been debating which house you would join. You wouldn't happen to want to join me in Slytherin?" Rhea smiled, "Oh, I am sure I would look great in green and silver. The portraits in Grimmauld would love it too. Sadly, I think I will be wearing blue and bronze. Pretty sure it's safer that way too. From what I hear my Dad and your Godfather have some bad blood between them." Draco looked a bit disappointed but nodded. Before he could leave though, Rhea pulled him into the compartment. "You mind if your friends wait outside? My Dad asked me to look after the Ladies here and your Mom would probably be crass with me if I didn't offer you the same." Draco shrugged and gestured for his guards to wait in the hallway before closing the door. 

Rhea wandlessly and silently casted privacy charms on the compartment and pointed at Susan. "Heiress Bones informed us that the Minister in his limited wisdom sent Dementors to Hogwarts. While I doubt they will be in the school proper, they may search the train. I have a way of warding the effects off you, but for it to work I need an unenchanted item that you would wear on your person, preferably against skin." Everyone begins to pull out something she could use, in the case of Draco, Susan and Hannah it was necklaces with charms on them. Luna took out a locket, but she hesitated. Rhea could tell it meant something to her and left her for last. "What I am about to do stays between us. Don't inform anyone except your parents and they aren't to share it with anyone except between each other and with Lord Black, got it?" Everyone was a bit unsure but all agreed. 

Rhea conjured a table in the middle of the compartment, startling everyone as they didn't see a wand or hear an incantation. She set the three necklaces on the table and pulled out her wand from her holster, pushing the tip against her index finger and letting magic poke a hole in her skin. She muttered two frases as her blood came in contact with the chains. "The blood was a medium, not the focus of the enchantment, so it's not exactly Blood Magic. The chains will now award you immunity from the effects of Dementors and the benefit of a warming charm, since they do have an environmental effect. They should hold up to a year, as long as they are with you. Your magic will help sustain them." She returned the items to everyone else and then looked to Luna.

Luna begrudgingly gave her the necklace and locket. Rhea allowed a bit more of her blood to bond with the chain, while letting two drops touch the locket itself as she muttered several frases no one could understand. She vanished the table and turned to Luna, placing the locket gently in her hands. "Aside from the warding and warming charms, I made it mostly invulnerable and applied a notice-me-not charm on it. They will hold for a year as well, unless you ask me to bind it to you, which will require your blood. Your magic will then protect it indefinitely and only you or I will be able to see it." For a second Rhea thought she had read her wrong. The girl just kept looking back between her and the locket. Next thing Rhea knows is that her head has made contact with the floor and a blonde little Ravenclaw is hugging her, whispering "Thank you!" over and over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, the chapter had been shorter as of this morning but I felt we all needed something more. So I added a scene. Its the one that hints as to what the main plot point of the year is for both Rhea and Hogwarts. Hope you all like it. I loved writing it!
> 
> Next Chapter continues where we left off and gives us a good idea what a Year with Rhea at Hogwarts is like. Do expect it late night Tuesday or Wednesday. Sleep calls and I must eventually answer!
> 
> Please leave a comment if you like and wish to discuss something from the chapter or story so far. How was my wand scene and choices for mother and daughter?


	8. Making Friends, Acquaintances (and Enemies)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, Chapter 8. Hope you all like it. Chapter 9 will probably be out tomorrow, the latest on Friday. The Muse was kind up to a chapter and I had to literally force my way through it. Now she's back and wants me to get started on the next one. To keep you all in the loop, I am starting Ch 14 (with an outline), and its halfway through summer before Year 4. That's a full year of Hogwarts for all of you to look forward too! Enjoy!

Most of the trainride had been pleasant enough. Draco offered his thanks and went out the door, saying something about putting some Gryffindors in their place. Rhea, guessing at who he meant, wished him luck. Most of the time she spent talking to Susan and Hannah, the discussion ranged from haircare (Hannah kept asking about Rhea's unusual hair color) to what electives they were all taking. Susan, Hannah and Rhea were taking Runes together, while Susan and Rhea were taking Dueling and Arithmancy, Hannah was taking Divination and Muggle Studies. Rhea admitted she was going to be taking NEWT Healing, as she already qualified for the course.

When Luna mentioned she would like to take Care of Magical Creatures, Rhea asked about the Wrackspurts she had mentioned earlier. Neither Hannah or Susan seemed interested. In fact… they seemed to not believe the magical creatures Luna mentioned existed. But something felt off to Rhea. Some of the descriptions matched a memory. Rhea's hands cupped Luna's face, earning an eep out of Luna's mouth. Later Hannah and Susan would bug her about how close she brought her face to Luna's, who had been blushing up a storm. Rhea would admit much later that she might have gotten carried away. But her eyes never left Luna's. Deep in Luna's silvery eyes she could see something familiar yet different. It reminded her of Mom and her… "Oh!" 

Rhea pulled back and smiled at a deep red Luna. "You have Fae Sight." Luna's blush went down as Susan coughed, "and what is Fae Sight?" Rhea tapped her chin, "Do you know what Mage Sight is?" Susan thought for a second, "I've heard Auntie mention it. The best Curse-breakers and Wardmasters have it. It lets you see ambient magic that is otherwise invisible." Rhea nodded, "Technically they can see all magic that tends to be hidden, with a few exceptions. I have Mage Sight and I had to learn how to turn it off because it can get overwhelming. The older Ancestral Homes like my Dad's can be quite painful to the untrained." She then looked at Luna. "Fae Sight is similar, but it's tied to the specific magic of the Fae. An example would be your typical house elf. They could clean a room completely out of sight of normal mages but those with Fae Sight can still see them even when hidden."

Rhea sat back, "Fae come in all shapes and sizes. What Luna calls a Wrackspurt could be a type of fae insect that tends to feed on magic. Considering we magicals tend to leak out magic, especially when angry, scared or confused, it makes sense that they would follow certain people." Rhea focused on her Death Magic, slowly bringing it to the surface and wrapping herself in it. Susan and Hannah seemed to shudder for a second, but Rhea's eyes were on Luna. "Any Wrackspurts on me now?" Luna squinted at her and gasped, "They're gone." She looks at Susan and Hannah, "you two have a few but they seem to be as far away from Rhea as possible." Rhea laughed and hid her magic, the cabin seemingly getting warmer. 

"That confirms it. My family magic isn't exactly pleasant for most people. Apparently the Fae agree. Since I will be in Ravenclaw and have some practice with Mage Sight, I can try and teach you to control it… if you want to." Rhea looked at a beaming Luna who nodded. Susan and Hannah started to ask Luna some questions, now that they knew she wasn't making stuff up. Much of what Luna mentioned matched her reading on Fae… except for the Nargles. Fae don't mind stealing, but they do it to challenge others. To prove they are better. For a Fae to steal and not reveal themselves…that doesn't sound like a Fae. It sounds like something a… kid would do. Before she could ask Luna, however, the train stopped abruptly. They could hear the students nearby complain. Rhea felt them then. 

Rhea can never forget the cold of the grave. It's with her whenever she uses Death Magic. It buries itself deep in her bones on Samhain. The Peverell Grimoires had been able to explain a lot of what Rhea now recognized as traces of Death Magic. The Dementors were like Thestrals and Grim, though each species holds their own mysterious connection to Death. They were all Death's creatures, though the Dementors couldn't hide from magicals in the Veil as the Grim could, but their presence was always there, magical person or not. Regardless, they were on the train looking for her cousin and Rhea had made a promise to herself. She would look after her family, no matter what. She stood up and waited, telling the others to stay behind her. In the dim light of the sun passing through cloud and rain, a dark shape stood behind the pane of glass. A long, bony hand reached out and pulled the door open. The girls behind her started to whimper. Rhea began to feel the effects, as she refused to shield herself against them. 

There weren't any images, voices or memories this time, but the feelings… those lingered. They would always linger. The pain across her back, the sensation of blood dripping slowly across her body, staining her nightwear red. The feel of her skin being tight, unwilling to yield under her scabbed scars. How those same often opened up as her fingers bled from the thorny plants, the hot summer sun burning its own reminder into her skin. The feel of uneven skin on her arm as broken bones would leave her useless and helpless, stuck waiting until her hand could grip something, anything again. They hadn't cared that she was unable to use an arm. She learned to use both. A blessing and a curse. Worst of all was the feeling between her legs. The weight of a man on her, forcing himself upon her. How he wouldn't care if she was hurting, would even delight himself when she screamed in pain or groaned in agony. Her face would be swollen from his hands many times after he had his way with her, leaving her unable to speak. Not that she could have spoken, even if she had wanted to speak. Her throat would either be hoarse or her jaw would be hurt. She had been practically mute by the time she was found.

Even in her hell, she had found peace. It had always come on the roughest nights. These moments were when all other thought simply vanished. She could forget her broken arms, her bleeding back, her empty stomach and her torn insides. She could forget she existed in a house that delighted in her pain and suffering. She would even forget the cupboard under the stairs. She would forget the names she had; Girl, Freak. Other names too, but not worth repeating. Mom had been mad when she did. She even forgot she was supposed to be called Halley. She had liked that name at first, when her first teacher spoke it. She came to hate it as even speaking it made her nights worse. In her peace filled nights she would simply be herself. A thought, a moment. Nothing more. She would always wake up though. She had hated waking up. Not because of the cold, that had always felt like home. Like peace. The cold never really lasted and it wasn't until she had her Mom that she finally stopped wishing for those moments of peace. Peace had been replaced by happiness, the cold of her peace by the warmth of her mother's love. 

She knew what that cold in her memories was now. She was sure her mom knew too. They only spoke of it once after the first Samhain, when the cold filled the houses and streets nearby. That was when she learned what had been with her every moment of her previous life. She didn't mind it but others did. Most people did. It's why they hated the Dementors. The cold was always there, a constant reminder. The cold of the grave. The Veil's eternal and unforgettable proof. No one who lived wanted to be reminded of death. She had once upon a time, but not now. Now she had a reason to live. The cold was peace to her, but she will always clamour for the warmth. The cold, however, would never be a source of pain for her. The Dementors, a source of pain and fear for all Wixen of Great Britain simply could not harm her. She was, like them, tied to death after all.

" _Creatures of death that walk amongst the living, you will restrain your aura in the presence of the innocent. Only the vile and depraved deserve your touch_." Her strange language cut through the still air and the cold withdrew from the children behind her. " _Mistress_." That one word made Rhea's head spin. These creatures not only recognized her…they saw her as a superior. This… could work. " _I know the one you hunt. She is a child of my House. You will tell the others. Her soul must face MY judgement first. If you find her, restrain her for the other wand wavers to hold. Or seek to inform me without harming another. Now go. The one you seek isn't here._ " The creature bowed to her. " _As you wish, Mistress._ " The cold followed the creature out. Within moments the train was moving again. "And I thought Potter speaking Parseltongue was creepy." Rhea groaned.

She spent the rest of the ride explaining that she had inherited the magical language from an ancestor, that it's not dark magic but grey and that yes, it sounds creepy. They did appreciate that Rhea had asked the Dementors not to get too overzealous around the innocent, so that definitely earned her some goodwill again. She stepped off the train and joined the girls in the carriage leading to the castle. After she and Luna spent some time petting the Thestral, who kept licking at Rhea's hand, making Rhea giggle. Once at the castle she bade the others farewell and moved towards where Sirius had mentioned McGonagall would wait for her and the first years. She smiled as she saw a cat waiting at the center of the room, carrying too much magic to be a familiar. 

She bent down and petted the cat, getting it to purr. "Sorry to burst your bubble, professor, but I have been with my dad for 3 years now, much of which he spent as a dog. I know how to spot an Animagus the moment I see them." The cat grew still under her touch and proceeded to swipe at her hand with her paw, getting a chuckle out of Rhea. A fully human McGonagall huffed at her. "I sincerely hope your father decided not to teach you how to become an Animagus." Silence filled the chamber and Rhea smiled at the professor's dawning face of horror. "Oh he did teach me, professor. I simply decided to use the meditation method instead of the potion. A much slower process but ultimately more rewarding. Dad places me as an Animagus by the end of 5th year. Mom places me at the Yule Break of 4th year. Either way, no animagus from me for about 2 more years."

The scottish woman just stared at her. "The absence of your own opinion on when you believe you will become an Animagus doesn't fill me with confidence." McGonagall shook her head, "When you enter the adjoining Chamber with the first years please remain behind. You are welcome to wait outside of the Great Hall until the doors open again. Your father spoke highly of you and your scores are at the top of your year group. Please, don't make me regret this." Rhea smiled, "Not to worry professor, any pranks on my part will be in 7th year. Wouldn't want you to put the blame on Dad." Rhea walked towards the wall as Hagrid brought the first years up. Seeing a few of the kids are wet and most are shivering, Rhea approaches them and silently casts drying and warming spells, which earn her thankful looks from both the students and the Deputy Headmistress.

While she waits with the kids she cuts off their weird ideas on the Sorting, simply telling them to focus on the things they value most and to enjoy themselves. This is their night. The ghosts enter the chamber and have their fun scaring and playing with the little kids until they spot her. Rhea feeds them a bit of her magic, which seems to ease their concerns. The ghost of a young woman with dark hair and wearing a silvery dress keeps stealing glances at her. Alone at last Rhea lets her magic connect with the castle's but frowns at what she finds. The castle is unhappy. The wards are an absolute mess that would make Aunt Catherine faint, especially after her reaction to Grimmauld's wards. As Lady Ravenclaw she had a lot of work to do.

The doors to the Great Hall opens and Rhea can spot the students divided along four massive tables. They hardly cover half the space. McGonagall's voice made her focus on the Sorting again. "Our next student spent the last two years homeschooled due to family matters. She tested as the highest scorer for the end of year exams in both first and second year courses. So please welcome our newest 3rd year, Miss Rhea Black." Rhea walked steadily forward, Occlumency held as strong as possible. She could hear a few words as she walked to the front; "The heiress?" … "she really looks like a pureblood"… "her hair is so pretty"… "bet you she's a slimy snake." As soon as she sat on the chair and the hat was placed on her head, she could feel the magic try and connect to her. _I can't sort you if you don't lower your barriers._ Rhea shrugged, _As long as you remember your oaths and they remain safely in place, Laris._ She could feel the Hat grow still at his name. _My oaths remain from the time the Founders shaped me. They are unbroken._ Rhea opens her barriers but keeps them ready against sudden attacks. 

_Ah, it has been long since two of your lines graced these halls aware of your heritage. While Godric, Salazar and Helga's lines ceded their influence and authority, yours remains whole and even strengthened. Hogwarts will have great need of you in the following years. While we both know where you will reside, let me see what more there is in you. You have lived through a hell like no other and conquered many of your demons. Godric would have welcomed you at his side. Your loyalty to the family that loved you is as feverish as a Dragon's need to protect its young. Helga would have loved to see you care and nurture her badgers. Your eyes never go still, your ears ever listening. You would use all opportunities available to you. Salazar would weep at seeing you in another's house. But your mind isn't driven by ambition, courage or loyalty. All these are tempered by your knowledge and its pursuit excites you. Rowena would be proud to see you in -_ "RAVENCLAW!" _Do give Helena a kick in the ass for me, Necromancer. She has wallowed in her own self pity long enough_ . Rhea laughed _Gladly. See you about, Laris._

Rhea reverently returns the hat to McGonagall as the Eagles cheer for their new member. Rhea, her tie now matching the house colors, walks a bit and sits down next to Luna, making many of the older Ravenclaws look at her oddly. She looks to the staff table and can see two… no, make that three people besides Dumbledore who might be a problem. Severus Snape had refused Lucius invitation to have his Dark Mark removed. He mentioned that he needed it to keep his cover at Hogwarts from the two who claim to be his Master. Meaning he could take her relationship to her Dad as a means of cementing his cover. Remus Lupin had made his bed with Dumbledore and Potter, and Sirius had made his position on the werewolf clear. The announcement of his condition during the feast drew many whispers and discussions, regardless of Dumbledore's empty assurances. Rhea could feel many eyes on her as she ate. No, the biggest problem for her was the Muggle Studies teacher.

Sure, she wasn't taking the class, not that she even needed it, and would therefore not have any reason to be near her. But that didn't mean their paths could not cross. That she would likely seek her out to help James mend fences with Sirius. So Rhea needed to keep herself as far away from Lily Evans-Potter before her rage drove her to quite literally strip her soul from her body. She knew she could do it. She refused to test it, but she did learn how to grasp a soul and bind it in place, the ultimate form of paralysis. Laris had told the truth, most of her demons were gone. She only had a bone to pick with Dumbledore, which she delegated to her dad (he was having too much fun), James Potter (he is lucky that as Head Auror he won't have a reason to be near her) and Lily bloody Potter. So Rhea controlled her magic and ate her meal, trying her best to keep her thoughts away from murder. Now if only thoughts of Susan's hair and Luna's lips could also vacate her mind, she could claim a measure of peace.

After the Feast, she followed the other Ravenclaws to their common room and listened to Professor Flitwick welcome the first years to the House before he turned towards her. "Miss Black, a moment of your time. As I mentioned to the first year students, our dorm rooms are for two students each. This does present an issue when we get an uneven number of students in a year. Currently, Miss Lovegood is the only student without an assigned roommate. I assume, based on your seating arrangement at the feast, that you wouldn't have an issue sharing a room with her, yes?"

Rhea shook her head, "Not at all sir, though I am wondering as to your policy for warding one's trunk in their rooms with intent wards and a stun defense." Flitwick looks at Rhea carefully, "Usually I would say that they would be discouraged, but your specifications make me wonder what it is you are expecting to find." Rhea smiled, "Well, I had a pleasant conversation with Luna on the train, where I properly diagnosed her with Fae Sight, something Hogwarts should have checked on her arrival at school. Many of the creatures she names have a Fae counterpart and I was able to categorize them. All except one. To Luna, Nargles seem to be a mischievous bunch of thieves that steal her things. She would later find said items scattered through Hogwarts. No Fae will steal without being spotted, as there is no sport if their challenge is ignored and no Fae would discard a stolen item, as they are all known to be hoarders. The behaviour is completely against Fae nature… but entirely consistent with children bullying other children." Rhea lets her words sink into the mind of her Head of House. He sighed, "If you keep the ward to stunning only, with no other debilitating physical or mental effects, then I see no issue if you apply it to Miss Lovegood's trunk. Should it trigger, please inform me at your earliest opportunity." 

Safe to say that Rhea successfully convinced Luna into applying the ward to the trunk and showed her how to charge it. She also got Luna to add her blood to the enchantments on Luna's necklace. The little blonde would never have any trouble with her mom's pendant.

-ᛦ-

  
  


The first week at Hogwarts had been a mixed bag for Rhea. Sure, much of her coursework was ridiculously easy to do, so much so she did most of her work wandlessly. She really didn't understand why so many of the students looked stunned by it. A wand is a foci, not the real source of magic. British magicals were weird. She had been happy to see her schedule full of classes with Hufflepuff as she ended up having some nice conversations with Susan and Hannah, even if the latter was more focused on gossip and appearance. Yes, her black hair now had natural bronze highlights and wasn't a mess to brush. How was this so important? Of course, she would put it in a braid when it was necessary. Like in potions.

The moment Snape did his attendance check, she knew she had to have a private conversation with him. No one saying her family name with that much venom in their voice should be of the opinion that she wouldn't do something about it. Though she had to settle for asking the man to have a meeting in his office. She wasn't going to miss her classes over one man's schoolyard feud. Even if History was dreadfully boring. She was going to let Binns have one more week. If the extra Death Magic she was feeding him wasn't enough to get him to teach properly, a visit from a Necromancer with the ability to exorcise him should settle the matter. One way or the other. 

Defense Against the Dark Arts had been more annoying than anything. Lupin clearly knew his stuff and tried to make the class interesting. For everyone but her. His blatant favouritism towards Gryffindor was appalling to see, especially when directed at his godson, Henry Potter. It was clear that Potter, and Longbottom, had received some instruction outside of school, if the level of skill in the other students is anything to go by, but rather than helping his housemates, he just refused to pass it along. He just basked in the praise heaped on him and left everyone else struggling. He really was a prat. She hated that the dueling class was co-taught by Lupin and Flitwick, though she hoped Flitwick's professionalism kept Lupin in line. At least that class met at a less regular schedule.

She did feel sorry for Flitwick though. One week in term and Ravenclaw was already in the negative for House Points. Of course the only people the eagles could blame were themselves. How did they think allowing six students, one being a Prefect for a second time, to repeatedly bully a first year, now second year girl, wouldn't get them in trouble with the diminutive professor. Hell, his Goblin lineage was easy enough to see if you knew what to look for, so of course he himself was subject to bullying when he was a kid. Of course he was going to blow a gasket! Rhea did smile at the memory of the Professor walking into her dorm room on Monday night.

"Miss Black, why are there six students slumped in front of Miss Lovegood's trunk?" Rhe had simply cocked her head at the professor, "I imagine for the exact reason we stipulated when you gave me permission to ward the trunk." Flitwick pulled off his glasses, rubbed his eyes and went to check the trunk. A few waves of his wand and he squeaked. He squeaked! Rhea had to share that memory with her dad! "Miss Black, this ward is far more complex than the one we discussed!" Rhea shrugged, "Your last instructions had been and I quote, "... no other debilitating physical or mental effects." This one does qualify. Sure, it has a setting that upon stunning a target it placed them under a notice-me-not charm and a targeted confundus with the aim of making a person temporarily forget if they entered the room alone or not, but nothing that could hurt them or impede their ability to leave should they have no ulterior motive for being here. The intent based ward wouldn't trigger anything if the person didn't mean to steal an item from within said trunk. I didn't even put a good concealment spell on the ward so you can verify what I just said."

Flitwick did a few more waves of his wand and sighed. "I suppose I did set the restrictions and you followed them to the letter, if not the intention. I assume you waited to be certain there were no other people bullying Miss Lovegood left in the dorms?" Rhea smiled, "I imagine there are a few more, but these were the first to try it and they did it in mass. I'm hoping your punishments act as a proper deterrent. If not, the ward won't be going anywhere." Flitwick just looked at her, "You best be on your way Miss Black." Rhea turned to leave but remembered something, "Out of curiosity, how would you like me to address you in private, Profesor? Via wizard tradition or Goblin?" Her head of House closed his eyes and Rhea could tell he was counting. "Wizarding Tradition, Miss Black." Rhea smiled and switched to Goblin Speech, " _Of course, Champion Wand Waver._ " He squeaked again!

Eventually, her meeting with Snape came up. His office sat right next to the potions lab and was just as dark and gloomy. "You wished to see me, _Black_?" Rhea just stared at him, as she willed privacy charms to cover the entire room. "Potions Master Snape. I am not in Slytherin and I am not afraid to admit I inherited a certain bluntness for answers from BOTH my parents, so I will get to the point. I am aware of your meeting with Lord Malfoy and your decision and reason behind keeping a certain tattoo. I am aware of the low and vile expectations both your masters have with regards to your behaviour towards certain members of the student body. I am not going to address your behaviour to the others, they can fight their own battles. I will address your problems with me." Rhea took a deep breath.

"My father confessed his deepest regret to me. He regretted bringing danger to your life and Lupin's, all out of a misguided sense of self-righteousness. He has expressed a willingness to mend matters with you, sir, but you must be willing to participate as well. As to your behaviour towards me, I don't expect you to suddenly proclaim me as your top student or to award me perfect grades, even if my work deserves said mark. If you wish to create the illusion of punishing me for my father's sins, I would be more than willing to aid you in preparing more difficult potions. You can claim you are trying to get me to fail by intentionally making me take on higher difficulty brewing and you are welcome to deduct points or grades for my failures. But don't insult my intelligence or my proficiency with a cauldron." 

Rhea could tell he was surprised with her words, and that a few times he wanted to interrupt,but he ultimately chose to listen. Her offer of more difficult potions seem to be of interest to him. "You sir have my respect as the youngest Potions master in England in a century. My mother may not have much claim to fame, but she also achieved an early potions mastery and has retained her skills in the matter. She personally instructed me for four years in the fine art of potioneering and I won't let the work ethic she instilled in me to be lost due to a charade you must uphold for your own reasons. So, how do you wish to proceed, Potions Master?"

Snape stared into her eyes and the gentle brush of a passive Legilimency scan smashed right into her barriers. "If you're concerned about my ability to keep my end of the charade, I can assure you, the Headmaster himself would suffer a brain hemorrhage long before my Occlumency defenses bulk." Snape lowered his eyes and sighed. "Your suggestion has merit and would serve well in both the matter of continuing hostility between me and your family. I will place a night's detention on you for this meeting, so as to keep up appearances, and on said detention I will test your skill with a cauldron. I will then assign you potions that will test your capability and your grade will be reflected from these rather than your yearmates work. You may go now." Rhea bowed and left the dungeons.

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


Fillius Flitwick took a seat at the staff table and waited for the rest of the staff to arrive as he pondered what to say about his House's current state. The six students he found in Miss Lovegood and Miss Black's dorm room had quickly changed their tune when he made it clear how the ward worked. There was no need for Veritaserum or anything, the proof was tied to the trap, which was Miss Black's intention all along. There was no doubt his newest 3rd year was a proper Ravenclaw, as her written work and casting in class showed that she not only studied the subject, but sought to master it. Of course, the fact that she favored wandless magic didn't hide how deeply committed she was to magic. He had spoken with her about using her wand and she had agreed to do so in matters that required concentration. When prodded further she merely mentioned that her magical affinities tie closely to wandless magic and she refuses to diminish her capacity. He couldn't exactly fault her for that.

Eventually the staff table was full and Albus began the discussion, beginning with the 1st years and then moving upwards. When they got to 3rd years, Albus decided to get specific. This particular year of students seems to attract too much of his attention. Lupin was the first to speak about them, "So far I have been doing some review work, covering material from last year. Most, with a few notable exceptions, weren't able to keep up with the expected level of education. I have assigned some remedial lessons to them to get them back up to standards. I also found a bogart in one of the other staff rooms and intend to use it to test everyone on its counter spell." 

Albus nodded his head, "Good, good. And about these students that did well, I imagine Mr Potter and his friends are among them?" Remus beamed, "Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom and Miss Granger all passed, while Mr. Weasley needs a bit more remedial work to be at the expected level." Remus seemed to be ready to continue when Pomona Sprout spoke up, "... and in the other Houses, any other 3rd years up to standard?" Remus seemed to catch himself and blushed in embarrassment, at least up until the last name he mentioned, "in Hufflepuff, Miss Bones, Miss Abbott, Mr. Smith and Miss Perks all did well and won't need any remedial lessons. The same can be said of Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Nott, Miss Greengrass and Mr. Zabini in Slytherin, though Miss Davis needs only a little remedial work. As for the Ravenclaws, none need to complete remedial work, though it did appear that most needed some last minute pointers to complete the evaluation."

McGonagall looks at him questioningly, "Explain." Remus sighed. "There seemed to be some difficulty with their casting of the disarming spell, until Miss Black went to each of her fellow Ravenclaws and explained a few things. All Ravenclaws were then able to cast it successfully, though their aim could use improvement." Albus looked at Remus, "I take it Miss Black had no difficulties." Remus seemed to say his next words begrudgingly, "None, though I had her repeat the spell after she refrained from using a verbal incantation the first time." Albus turned to the rest of the staff, "Has Miss Black been difficult in her other courses?" McGonagall actually seemed to be offended. "Certainly not. While Miss Black's magical skills are certainly impressive, she spends most of the time explaining the finer points to her fellow students who have difficulty in the subject. While she clearly favors her House, I have seen her helping Miss Bones, Miss Abbott and Miss Perks in my own class, all of whom have shown improvement in their work for it."

Sprout and Sinastra both cover Rhea's proper performance in their courses, though they make it clear she doesn't favor the classes with them. It's when it gets to Runes and Potions that the discussion turns interesting to Flitwick. Professor Bathsheda Babbling was practically giddy. "I have had to find her some more difficult runes to work with. She has already mastered both Elder Futhark and Younger Futhark and has a good grasp of Ancient Greek and Egytian Hieroglyphics. I was only able to stump her with Mesopotamian Cuneiform. For now, I have her working on the former two but I imagine she will be capable of taking her Runes NEWT in 2 years!" Everyone then turned to Snape who seemed to have been struggling with what to say. "Miss Black's skill with a cauldron seems to be adequate. I did give her a detention for cheek and she will likely be seated separately. If she is anything like her father I expect a few melted cauldrons, if not outright explosions. I will not be endangering any other student by seating them next to her."

Fillius is surprised. Severus may have sounded like his typical self, especially when he lambasts Mr. Potter and his potions skills (or lack thereof) yet Fillius swears that he was covering for something. Fillius does notice everyone looking at him, expecting his own assessment. "Miss Black, as far as I can see, is exceptional at charms. I have no problem with her silent casting and like with Lupin and Minerva I have seen her come to her fellow students' aid and help them improve their casting. All of them do. I am pleased to hear about her performance out of my class and look forward to seeing her progress. I am particularly curious about your assessment of her, Poppy."

A good portion of the staff looks over at Madam Pomfrey, who looks a little sheepish. Albus seems confused, "Has Miss Black been admitted to the Hospital Wing already?" McGonagall looks guiddy and Pompfrey looks insulted. "I believe that Professor Flitwick is referring to the fact that Miss Black is currently studying Healing under me, Headmaster. She is the only student who took the elective." Albus looked like he choked on one of his lemon drops. Perhaps he did. "Miss Black is a 3rd year student and the Healing elective is NEWT level. It is unwise to-..." Pomfrey raised her voice and spoke over him, "Miss Black has both a Ministry and an ICW certification of having completed the Early Healers evaluation. She is capable of taking Advanced Healing and is on her way in becoming the youngest certified healer since Grindelwald's War." Albus visibly flinched at the mention of Grindelwald's name.

Pomfrey continued, "I can assure you Headmaster, I personally evaluated her in our first session. Her diagnostic charms are thorough and her attention to detail is perfect for a Healer. Had she been a certified Healer in the last war, Alastor Moody himself would likely have had fewer scars maring his body. I look forward to seeing her as she practices on the lesser injuries one can often find in my Hospital Wing. But if you'd prefer to keep her from learning properly, I can at least keep her from healing Mr. Potter when he inevitably graces me with his company." Fillius smiled. His newest student was indeed someone to look after if even Poppy takes a liking to her. His good mood only soured when he had to explain the massive point drop his house suffered. Pomona looked giddy at the thought her badgers could break ahead and snatch the House Cup. 

-ᛦ-

"Is this seat taken?" Draco was about to refuse out of principle, as he knew he was now at the age when many of his father's acquaintances would be approaching him with possible courtships, pushing their daughters practically in his lap (Pansy Parkinson was already making a nuisance of herself), when he turned and saw… his cousin, Rhea. Draco genuinely smiles, "Not at all, cousin. Please, join us for lunch." Rhea nodded and sat down with all the grace of a proper Heiress. His mom would be proud. "As my only close family member in Slytherin, would you do the honor of introducing me to your classmates?" 

Draco nodded and began, "the gentleman to my left is Theodore Nott, Heir of House Nott, the one sitting opposite of him is Blaise Zabini, Heir of House Zabini, the lovely ladies in front of you are Heiress Daphne Greengrass of House Greengrass on the left and Tracy Davis, of House Davis on the right." Rhea bowed her head, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I would personally have liked to share more classes with you, but the schedule seems to put Slytherin House and Gryffindor House together more often than not." A smattering of complaints of the matter filled the table as she served herself some food. 

Rhea turned to Nott, who was looking at her carefully, "Heir Nott, was your Grandfather's meeting with my Dad productive? I was aware of it but was too distracted by my preparations for Hogwarts to ask my Dad how it went." Nott actually beamed at her, "Grandfather was quite pleased with it and has spoken with Lord Black and Lord Malfoy since. I believe he even shared some of his experiences with Lord Arcturus Black with your father." Rhea smiled fondly, "Please pass on my gratitude to your Grandfather. My dad hardly got to meet Great Grandfather Arcturus and sharing such memories with him must have meant a lot to him." Nott nodded and returned to his plate as Rhea asked Draco about how he is enjoying his electives and if he was looking forward to the duelling class. 

Rhea eventually turned to Daphne, "How about you Heiress Greengrass? How are you enjoying the electives? I do want to apologize for any extra work my father brought to yours. As Neutrals serving together in both the Wizengamot and in the Board of Governors, I hear they have been spending a lot of work hours together. My apologies to your mother, Lady Greengrass, if this has made him spend more time away from home than she would have liked." Daphne gave her an expressionless look before she giggled. Everyone at the table looked at her with quiet surprise. "The sentiment is appreciated and I would be more than happy to share it with my mother. My father has made no complaints yet of his new work hours and has actually been pleased with the changes yours has brought to the Wizengamot and the Board. Perhaps we should organize a get together for our families?"

"The House of Black would be happy to arrange a get together with the House of Greengrass. Though please be aware we have plans for a get together this Yule Recess to meet with the rest of our family as well as House Malfoy. Perhaps over Easter Break? The get together with the Prasinos Family on Yule will be quite exhausting as is and we would like to have a quiet time for the rest of Yule. Are you alright, Heir Zabini?" Everyone nearby turned to Blaise Zabini as he seemed to have spit out the pumpkin juice he had been drinking. He took out a handkerchief and cleaned his face before cleaning the table in front of him with his wand. "My apologies, Heiress Black. Did you say you were having a get together with the Prasinos Family?" 

Rhea looked at him, "Of course. They are my mother's family. Mom kind of went off on her own and now they want to make sure all is good with us by meeting once a year. This is our first Yule with them and I can't wait to see the Chateau in winter." Rhea's eyes grew unfocused for a second, "Oh Heir Zabini, have you heard from your Grandfather, Lord Zabini in Italy? Grandma Seraphina was having a chat with him last time she owled me and I forgot to ask. Did the negotiations go well?" Blaise looked at her with an odd expression. Rhea wasn't sure what that was. It did remind her of something though. "Uhm, from what I hear everything went great. Mom was actually quite happy with Grandfather's last letter." Rhea beamed, "Oh I am so glad. Grandma was so interested in getting what she asked of your Grandfather. She had been working some long hours getting the details right." Rhea spotted Susan and Hannah waving her down. "My apologies for cutting this short but I have a prior engagement. A good afternoon to you all ladies, gentlemen, cousin." The entire table watched her leave. 

Draco was about to comment on Blaise's eyes staying glued to his cousin until she left the Great Hall but was interrupted by the panicked expression on his face. "Draco, talk to the other Year Heads, Prefects and to Gemma. We need a House Gathering tonight!" Draco looked at him as if he had gone crazy, "Blaise, what exactly is so important that we need to call the entire house for?" He watched Blaise write a quick letter that he pocketed, probably to take to the Owlery. "Draco, House Slytherin needs to declare your cousin "off limits," completely. If something happens and one of the upper years is responsible, we will all be up shit's creek." The entire table near him was looking at Blaise as if he was insane. Blaise looked around and frowned. "Do none of you know about the Prasinos Family?" Everyone shakes their head except Draco. "I know Uncle Sirius is courting Rhea's mother and that she is a Prasinos and that they are a Magical family from the Continent. That's about it." 

Blaise looked even more panicked. "Ok, we need to send letters home. Have them all contact Lord Malfoy and my mother! I don't want to imagine what could happen if something were to happen." Draco snapped, "Blaise, stop panicking and tell us why the Prasinos are so important." Blaise sighed, "The Prasino's family is old. Stupid old. Ancient Greece type of old. The family is mostly well liked and quiet and everyone just sort of writes them off. Like the Hufflepuffs. But every once in a while something happens, a member of the family gets hurt or killed and shit happens. Last time it happened it was 15 years ago. Two German Magical Families my Grandfather had dealings with vanished. No ruins, no vaults, no corpses, no trace. And the old Families refuse to talk about it. They will only ever say, "If you see a Prasinos, ignore them, if you meet a Prasinos, make friends. But under no circumstances are you to insult, hurt or kill a Prasinos." So please, stop asking me about this, send the letters home and get everyone on the same page. Rhea Black is to stay safe. Hell, make her an honorary Slytherin if you have to. Just for the love of all Magic, don't piss off her Family!"

-ᛦ-

"You know, I thought Uncle Sirius was supposed to be a good guy. Went to Azkaban because of a mistake and all. I didn't think he and his family would turn out to be friends with Death Eaters. Guess he actually deserved it." Rhea had been around insults before. Dudley had enjoyed insulting her for everything under the sun. Rhea won't even touch the rest of the Dursleys. She knew insults well enough. But the cold feeling that settled in her bones, the sharpening of her hearing and the darkening of her vision? That was new. She didn't like it. Not. One. Bit.

"Don't sweat it, Henry. I bet you she misled the Hat like her Dad did. Both are Snakes hiding in other Houses. Bet you that's how they know who to hurt and how." The feeling in her stomach grew colder. Another voice cut in, "That doesn't sound right, Ron. The Hat is old, I'd doubt anyone could just fool it. Besides, she seems nice. She even spends time with Luna and Sally. Just because she sat with her cousin for lunch doesn't mean she's as bad as Malfoy." The cold feeling simmers down, until the voices return. "Come of it, Hermione, you see the way she walks around and talks to others. Even Remus doesn't like her. Said she smelled wrong. If a werewolf tells you there is something wrong with someone, then it can't be a good thing." The feeling spreads across her body, her legs feel heavy and her fingers… why can't she feel her fingers? 

"Ron's right Mione. You heard how they made Remus admit he was a werewolf. He will be stuck in a cage with Snape come the full moon. Even with wolfsbane being used! Bet you Sirius is the reason Bellatrix got out. He must have told her how. Now Black's here at Hogwarts, so she can help her Psychotic Aunt get in. We need to keep an eye on her, before she gets one of the other students hurt. Ron, maybe we can ask your brothers abou-"

CRACK

A few of the girls screamed as a loud noise shook the Library. Everyone's eyes though were fixed on the candlestick in front of Henry Potter. What had once been Pewter and wax was now a jagged stick of warped metal and ash. Even Madam Price was shocked. Rhea was shocked. She hadn't willed that to happen. Yet it did. She didn't have to act surprised when she hunched over to Susan, Hannah and Sally. "Maybe we should head for our common rooms. Let Madam Price figure out what happened." They all nodded. Much of the library emptied out. Once she was alone, she disillusioned herself and silenced her footsteps. She wanted to go to Ravenclaw Tower and sleep, maybe call mom and dad. But the magic in her veins wanted to be let out. She needed to let it out.

"This way, quickly." She looked up and saw Helena. Her translucent body seemed to grow more opaque as Rhea followed her. They reach the 7th Floor. "Walk back and forward in front of this wall. Think of a safe place to release your magic without anyone noticing. Quickly." Rhea did as instructed and a door appeared. She walked in and watched the Ghost of her Ancestor's Daughter physically close the door. She might as well be physical. Maybe she was. "The room is safe, you cannot hurt me. Let it out. The magic, the rage. Let it out now!" And so she did.

The scream of rage out her mouth would have chilled anyone's blood. The living didn't feel anything but the castle grew colder. But the Dead knew, the Children of Death knew. The Dementors grew agitated, the Thestral neighed and stomped the ground. A lone howl was heard in the forest. A black owl headed for her Mistresses Room to await her return. For a single moment the Room of Requirement was beyond the reach of anything. Only Death. The rats, bugs and creatures in the Room of Hidden Things all dropped dead. A Diadem, tainted by a man's poor attempt at immortality, was cleansed of any trace of a soul. The Silence in the Room of Requirement was finally broken as a song spoken in Old English echoed across the chamber. 

Rhea opened her eyes, her heart feeling warm as the last lyrics of the Old English song ended in Helena's lips. Helena in life had been beautiful. Despite the centuries, Rhea could see the family resemblance between them. She looked like how Rhea thought she might have looked before the Blood adoption. She went to speak and her voice cracked. Helena chuckled. "Typsy!" A house elf popped into the room, "Yes Miss … Mistress Helena! How?" Helena cuts her off, "The how is the young girl in front of me, who is probably in need of water. She might need something for her throat but best to wait on that. This will probably be temporary. You are to keep what has happened to me and about the girl's gift from being spoken or revealed to the Headmaster. The Ghosts already know and understand. The Portraits cannot be made to comply against the will of Hogwarts. Make sure the elves know and bring her the water. Warm and cold." The elf looks at the girl, her eyes as big as possible. "Typsy understand. Elves will know and not speak. Keep the new Mistress safe!" A pop and the elf is gone.

" _How did you know. About me and I guess about the ring I carry?_ " Helena looks down and blinks, "An interesting idea, switching to the language of Death." Typsy places the water pitchers next to Helena and a cup. She lets Rhea drink from the warm water first. "As for you, all ghosts could feel your gift. You giving us a trace of your magic was much appreciated. And your warning of Binns will likely sink in tonight. Those of Death's realm will not have missed your rage as it thundered through the Veil. As for the ring...," Helena stares into the distance, "You are like her. My aunt. She was a Necromancer too but hid it from all. Probably for the best. They would have hunted her harder if they knew. She had a child, loved and cared for her before the hunting parties grew close. My mother raised my cousin after my death and made her Heiress to all that was hers. The rest is lost to time. A thousand lives, a thousand births, a thousand dreams. All leading to you, Rhea of Ravenclaw." 

Rhea smiled. " _Pleasure to meet you, Helena of Ravenclaw. By the way, Laris sends his love and asked me to kick your ass. While I feel like I could currently, how about we just say I did and call it settled?_ " Helena laughed, a beautiful sound unheard in millenia. Rhea swore she would find a way to record it. It was too beautiful to be lost to time once more. A soul whose life ended far too soon connects with one made old by the horrors of the living, and in a night shaken when death visited the world but for a second, normality is restored all too soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was the Dementor scene? I didn't want to make a panic attack scene, but Dementors do tend to dreadge up some unpleasantness and you all were looking forward to the scene, so I went halfway and gave a taste of both Halley's horrors and a little something more. 
> 
> The name for the Hat is Latin for cheerful, considering he sings to the school that one day a year he is let out of the Headmaster's office. Poor dusty old hat. How do you like Rhea's interactions with the Professors? Did you enjoy the scene with Draco and the Slytherins? How about Rhea's introduction to Henry and his group? Share and ask away in the comments!
> 
> Next Chapter? More classes and Quidditch. Oh, and Samhain.


	9. Echoes of the Dead linger in the Living

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is Chapter 9 as Rhea gets further into her time at Hogwarts. I got hit hard by my Muse last night which leaves me with a Chapter by Chapter outline of Year 4. Also said Muse left me with a night's dose of Insomnia.
> 
> A 2 day period between releases should be the norm, as it gives me time to hammer out a proper chapter and review the ones I am posting properly. Should that change, I will make sure to let you all know. Enjoy!
> 
> .

Classes settled into a routine at Hogwarts for Rhea. Snape took her up on her suggestion and her Potion's class experience dramatically improved. Sure he was grading her work on NEWT and Mastery Potions as if they were part of the 3rd year curriculum, but as far as Rhea was concerned she was essentially in a self study class under the watchful eyes of a Potions Master who could rival her mother. Despite some snide remarks, it was actually a lot of fun. Certainly more fun than Herbology. With all due respect to Professor Sprout (She had to have some dryad genes with a name like that, right?) she really didn't need to supply her own potions stock from a garden, especially when said garden magical plants either refused to let themselves be touched by her or simply seemed to go dead limp in her hands until she left them alone. Plants and Death, despite her affinity to Earth Magic, don't mix. 

Binns, as Helena predicted, became more like your typical history teacher and actually followed a proper syllabus rather than droning on about Goblin Rebellions. The other students were stunned by the change and some even grumbled about losing their nap time, but Rhea was really enjoying the class, the way she expected when she heard a ghost was teaching. Arithmancy was just mathematics with numbers having magical significance and Runes with Babbling was both self study and refresher. At least Babbling just had her read a book on Hieroglyphics. She'd be able to read an original tablet of the Egyptian Book of the Dead by next year. Sweet! Maybe she could convince Mom and Dad to go vacation on the Nile. She heard it was quite beautiful. 

DADA kept being a bit of a disappointment. Sure she got the work done and her classmates and friends were passing with some tips from her but Lupin's problem with her seemed to just get worse. Especially after the Boggart incident. When Lupin said they would be facing a Boggart, Rhea pulled the Ravenclaws aside and warned them that they could refuse. One's greatest fear was a private matter and the school was not required to force a student to face their fears without parental authorization, and Flitwick wasn't there to give his support either. Many of them agreed and the Ravenclaws stood their ground. Even Susan and Hannah joined the protest, though Sally did decide to face it. Her's ended up being a vicious dog that rushed her and would have hurt her if Rhea hadden't raised a barrier. Sally eventually gathered the courage and casted the counter on the Boggart (a poodle with pink bows and no teeth was decidedly funny).

Lupin left her for last and probably expected her to refuse, but Rhea wasn't a Marauder's daughter for nothing. She put her Occlumency Barriers on high and focused on a single thought she would let slip. After the Boggart went crazy trying to find out anything from her mind and failing, it latched onto the thought and the result was exactly as planned. She thought that the scariest thing in the world was nonexistence. Lo and behold the Boggart willed itself into nonexistence. The absolute silence of the class and the dumbfounded look on Lupin made it worth the wait. She was so sending that memory to mom and dad! 

Eventually the day she dreaded came. Dueling class with Lupin and Flitwick. She didn't dread the course, Dad had been thorough in his instructions and mom was decidedly mean and cruel and Rhea loved her tips. Dad had refused to practice dueling on Mom and she had just smiled at him. Wise man, for occasionally being a Neanderthal. No, what she dreaded was being near Henry. He was supposed to have been her twin brother, but the Potters and Dumbledore ruined that. She would look at the Patils and the Weasleys and would almost ask them. But there would be no point. The link between them was severed beyond repair. Helena did a good job helping her deal with the rage the prat tended to inspire in her when he badmouth her family. She now wondered if she should add a figurine of a little brother to her Samhain altar, since it would seem her brother had indeed died the day she had been sentenced to hell on earth.

She watched as the 3rd year students moved into the Great Hall, dueling platforms set up at intervals in the room. She noticed that Snape accompanied the Slytherins and stood in the back, watching. How odd. She managed to get some friendly words with Daphne and Draco before Lupin and Flitwick called the class to order and started setting up the students in duels to gauge their reflexes and spell repertoire. Apparently the class would be divided among skill groups. Neat! She hears pairs of students called up. Susan was put up against Granger, who Rhea would admit knew a good variety of spells. Not much help against a girl trained by Auror tutors. The fight lasted 2 minutes and was Susan's from the start. 

She noticed some disagreement between the Professors until Lupin called out. "Black vs Zabini." She was heading towards the platform when Blaise spoke up, "I withdraw." Silence spread through the Hall. Lupin sighed. "Miss Greengrass vs Black then." Snape cuts in, "as interesting as it would be to see Miss Black fight against a member of my House, I am afraid that no Slytherin will be raising their wand at Miss Black." Rhea turned and looked at Profesor Snape. Wait… he didn't say the third years wouldn't, he said no Slytherin would. Snape was blunt but he always measured his words. Which means he really meant it. She eyed Draco, who blushed and looked away from her. Is this what having an overprotective brother was like? It felt…warm. 

"I'll take on Black if the snakes won't!" And now she felt cold. She started doing the mental exercises that Helena and Mom suggested as she stepped up the platform and stood opposite of Henry Potter. _Mustn't kill the prat, Mustn't kill the prat, Mustn't kill_ … "Miss Black, wands out." She eyed Lupin. "I will be keeping my wand holstered until required, Professor." Both Potter and Lupin sputtered, but the Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs laughed. "As mentioned, none harmfuls spell only and please vocalize the spells. Ready? Start!" "Expelliarmus!" Rhea just stared at her brother and didn't even bother to move. The spell hit and nothing happened. She raised her arms and twittled her fingers, "Please tell me you understand what that spell does Potter. Sort of useless when your opponent isn't currently armed." 

The entire Hall burst out laughing at the embarrassed look on Potter's face. And was that…was Snape smirking? Damn it! She needs to buy more memory vials. "Incarcerous!" Ropes snap towards her and she just dodges out of the way. "Stupefy!" A quick turn of her body and it sails straight past. "Locomotor Mortis!" Rhea jumps up and the spell just hits the floor. On and on he repeats the same spells, except the disarming spell, and he misses every single one. Getting bored and already having enjoyed her makeshift duelling practice she summoned her wand from her holster. Potter didn't even hesitate, "Expelliarmus!" Rhea smiled, moved her body slightly and aimed her wand. "Protego!"

Silence filled the room as Potter went sailing out and landed at the edge of the platform, his wand tossed out into the throng of students. Potter's spell didn't hit a shield as expected, nor did it bounce off one. No shield manifested from Rhea's wand and she simply let the expelliarmus sail past her. "Miss Black, I said all spells must be verbalised, 10 points from Ravenclaw." Rhea turned to Professor Lupin, clearly pissed at her. "Perhaps you should amend your rules then, Professor. You said all spells should be verbalized, you didn't say they should be verbalized accurately. Its standard practice in Dueling circuits for opponents that verbalize their spells to cast anything other than the spell spoken." Lupin looked like he wanted to curse her. Rhea holstered her wand and walked off the platform. 

The class continued on for an hour and 30 minutes more but she wasn't called again. She did get a surprise as she left the Hall though. "Miss Black, 20 points to Ravenclaw." She turned and looked at Professor Snape, "Whatever for, Sir?" Snape smirked and Rhea made a new tally in her head, next to McGonagall's Huffs and Flitwick's Squeaks. "Displaying proper dueling posture, providing entertainment to your fellow students and for putting an attention seeking prat in his place." He turned, his robes billowing behind him dramatically. Rhea had a spring in her step the rest of the day. Maybe Duelling class wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

Everything seemed to be going fine until October 31st. She had just let her friends know during lunch that she would be stepping out of the castle and heading home to take part in her family's Samhain preparations when one of the people she was trying to avoid decided to stick his nose into her business. "Miss Black, I regret to inform you that you won't be permitted to leave the castle." She pulled her shoulder bag up and turned to look at the Headmaster who was standing next to her. She could see her Head of House coming towards them. "Headmaster, I assume you are intimately familiar with the Hogwarts Charter, correct?" 

The old man brushed his waist length beard and seemed to preen. "Of course my dear. I am…" Rhea cuts him off, "Then that means you are aware that the Founders themselves expressly forbid anyone, themselves, their Heirs and the staff, including the Headmaster from impeding a student's needs to celebrate their established days of worship, regardless of religion? And that said rule prevents any amendments from overriding this directive? Which would mean that one of your previously spoken sentences is a lie. So which is it, the blatant attempt to impede a student's established religious and magical rights or lying about knowing the Hogwarts Charter?"

Rhea mentally wonders if she should make a tally for making entire rooms go silent. You could hear a pin drop in the Great Hall. Dumbledore's ego apparently couldn't take it for long. "I believe a 15 points deduction and a night of detention are in order, Ms. Black." Rhea lifted her eyebrow at him. "If that is how Hogwarts' Headmaster handles himself when a student reminds him of his duties and restrictions them it's no wonder that my father has been so busy since getting on the Board of Governors. Now excuse me Headmaster, I have a ritual to prepare for." That seemed to make the Headmaster's skin pale, "Miss Black, rituals at your age are extremely dangerous. Via my authority as in loco parentis I…" Rhea snapped, "Do nothing. My Head of House signed all the necessary documents banning ANY staff member from possessing in loco parentis powers over me. Professor Flitwick, could you escort me to your office? I would rather not play host to the deceased in any more of a foul mood. Good Day Headmaster. Enjoy your Feast." 

Rhea spent the next few minutes running through mental exercises while walking through the halls of the school towards her Head of House's Office. She sighed, "My apologies for not being pleasant conversation Professor, it is never wise to have one's magic overly active due to anger, and the Headmaster's blatant disregard for the rules and my rights did a number on my emotional state." Flitwick nodded. "Not a problem my dear and it's perfectly understandable. Though I doubt going to my office will do you much good. I imagine the Headmaster has closed of floo access." Rhea enters the office and turns around towards her professor. She makes a silencing motion with her finger on her lips. "Care to learn a secret Professor?" Rhea then opens the window and calls her familiar. 

Flitwick looks between his student and her black owl curiously. "What secret would you share?" Rhea grinned mischievously and switched to Goblin Speech, " _You can't ward against that which you don't know about._ " With those final words, Rhea vanished without any noise, except that of a gust of wind, leaving behind a properly startled Professor.

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


Sirius wrapped his arms around Sabrina's waist as she finished preparing the altar. "Sirius, behave. Our daughter will be here soon." Sirius kissed her shoulder, earning him a moan and a playful slap. Sirius grinned. "Come now love, it's been a while and we always behave on Samhain." Sabrina was about to respond when someone else did. "I didn't need to hear that." Sirius jumped as a wandless stinging hex (one of the few new spells Sabrina could do wandlessly) hit him in the inner thigh. Sabrina looked towards her daughter, whose vision was obscured by the black owl's outstretched wing. Sabrina shivered at the owl's judgemental eyes. "Nyx, is it safe to look now?" 

A soft hoot and a lowered wing and the next thing she knows is that her 13 year old daughter is hugging her. Rhea hugged her back and sighed. How she had missed this. "Welcome home, Rhea. Have you decided who to call tonight?" While Sabrina hardly ever asked, the last Samhain was still fresh in her mind. Rhea nodded. "I was going to call Cygnus." Sirius hissed and Rhea pulled away and hugged him too. "I know you hate your uncle Dad, but we need to know what happened to Bella and he is the only one who can tell us." Sirius sighed and hugged his daughter tightly. "Ok, just be safe, please?" Rhea nodded into his chest and pulled away. Sirius smiled sheepishly, "Though there has been a small change in plans." Rhea cocked her head and Sirius pulled her towards the sitting room on the first floor and Sabrina finished working on the basement.

Two hours later and Rhea was excited. Andromeda, Ted and her cousin Nymphadora were joining them! This would be Ted and Nymphadora's first Samhain ritual and Andromeda's first in 20 years. The floo flared and Rhea quickly took a soft bow. "Welcome to Grimmauld Place Lord Malfoy, Aunt Narcissa. We thank you for joining our ritual tonight and hope it may become a more common occurrence." Lucius smiled and bowed his head, "It is good to be amongst family this night and I am honored to be invited, Heiress Black. Draco has been speaking highly of you." 

Rhea beamed, "Draco and his friends have been most kind. Daphne Greengrass has been of great help in Herbology. While I am good with processed plants, I am dismal with living ones. Daphne, Tracey and I have been partnering together a lot." Rhea suddenly gets a thought, "Oh, was Draco responsible for Slytherin not practicing dueling with me? I haven't had a chance to ask but he did look a little guilty after Snape mentioned it in the first meeting of our class." Lucius coughs dramatically, "While the reason is a bit more complicated, Draco was part of it. No need to worry about it my dear, it just means that Slytherin considers you family and we never harm our own." Lucius relaxed on seeing Rhea beam at him before she led them to the dining room. Only two members of the House of Black didn't attend that night, with Draco wishing to spend the night among friends. 

A few hours after sundown and the ritual chamber in Grimmauld Place began to settle, as members of the House of Black awoke. There wasn't a dry eye in sight. Lucius moved towards his wife and hugged her. Sirius, the first to wake amongst his immediate family went to him. Lucuius looked at him carefully, "You knew." Sirius smiled softly, "I have been in a Samhain ritual with my family for the last 4 years. Each one has been the same. So yes. Do you regret it?" Lucius shook his head as he took a deep breath. "No. Seeing my father again, hearing his voice. Seeing my mother as I left. I could never regret this. But how?" Sirius turned to his daughter as Sabrina woke, her own face covered in tears. "My little girl is a Necromancer." Both Lucius and Narcissa take in a sharp breath of air. "This isn't something we want out. Not yet. But you are family and have proven it in the last few years. Sabrina and I agreed to invite you and Rhea couldn't be happier." 

Lucius looked at the little girl still out from the ritual. So much change and all because of her. "I can see why you have done what you have. Educating the students about rituals, teaching them the values of the Olde Ways. Dumbledore and his Light sycophants won't like a Necromancer reshaping Wizarding Britain." He looked down at his wife who nodded at him. Lucius turned to Sirius. "Your daughter's gift is safe with us. At least until you order otherwise." Sirius smiled and was about to reply when a string of Greek and Goblin expletives were said by his now awake daughter. "Language!" 

Rhea looked at everyone and blushed, "Sorry Dad!" She moved closer to her mom and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "Cygnus Black was mad after Andromeda escaped the marriage contract he had planned for her. He knew he had nothing to worry about with Narcissa but Bellatrix didn't like LeStrange, so he forced her." Rhea looked up and stared into her fathers eyes, rage simering inside of her. "He used a slave contract on her!"

-ᛦ-

Rhea popped back into Hogwarts during breakfast, though she already ate. She went to Slytherin's table first. "Morning Cousin." Draco looked at her. "Morning Cousin. You missed the excitement last night." Rhea sat down to his right and passed him a package. "What excitement? If it's the Halloween Feast I was quite happy to miss it. This is a care package from home. Mom, Aunt Andy and your mom worked on it together. There are also some letters from your parents, Cousin Dora and Dad." Draco took the package and opened it, noting some tasty smelling pastries and cookies. "Wow, did my parents stay till morning?" Rhea nodded. "They did. The ritual last night left them a little winded and it would have been bad manners to let them go back home like that. Our fathers had some coffee in the office and everyone else just gathered in the kitchen. Kreacher was quite put out by the ladies deciding to bake without him." Draco laughed.

"You'll have to do better than that Black if you want to get me killed!" Rhea's blood went cold again as she sighed. "I don't know what you are talking about Potter. I was home with my family." Potter seemed to glare at her. "So last night you disappear and all of a sudden your crazy Aunt Bellatrix decides to break into the castle. Not buying it Black!" Rhea really wanted to smack him but decided to look at Draco. "This the excitement you mentioned?" Draco nodded. "Bellatrix somehow made it onto school grounds, dodged the Dementors, reached the entrance to Gryffindor Tower and tried to break in. Burned the Fat Lady's portrait all the way. Good thing she fled into other frames or the castle would be missing a painting." 

Rhea hummed and turned to Potter, "So since I was nowhere to be found, you just assume I let her in. If your Dad makes the same leaps of logic, no wonder he has pissed off so many of the old Houses." Potter's face reddened. "Don't you dare talk about my father like that, you snake. I know you're working with her to get me killed and Dad will drag you and your crazy aunt to Azkaban himself." He spun on his heels and left. Rhea looked over at her cousin, "Is he always that dim and dramatic?" Daphne snorted, and the others nearby looked at her, "Sorry, it's just Draco is the worst person to ask that to. He is the most dramatic of our year, barring Potter." Rhea laughed full heartedly at Draco's "Oi, I resent that!"

Ignoring Potter's glares, Rhea had a great week. Luna's exercises were getting her improved control over her Fae Sight and she loved the book on Fae Rhea brought back from her own library. That and the fact the Ravenclaws now knew not to bother her had resulted in her smiling much more. Rhea loved her smile. While most of the school was gearing up to watch the upcoming Quidditch game, which changed from Gryffindor vs Slyrherin to the Lions taking on the Badgers, Rhea focused more on her Healers studies. Madam Pompfrey said that it's highly likely they would be getting some injured Quidditch players, so Rhea focused on treating falls, blunt force trauma and splinter removal. 

The night before the Quidditch match Rhea had been reading her non-magical medical book when she noticed her detection spells catch something in the food. She stopped Luna from eating before telling her it was tampered. She sent an animated paper message to Susan in Hufflepuff and Draco in Slytherin before passing on her observations to the rest of Ravenclaw. Half an hour later and the thing she noticed became evident. Everyone besides a bunch of Ravenclaws, most of Slytherin and half of Hufflepuff had their skin and hair changed to match their house's color. Funny enough, almost all of the Gryffindors were affected. "Messers Weasley!"

Rhea looked towards the Gryffindor table again and spotted the Weasley Twins standing up and taking a bow, proudly showing that they too had taken the potion ingredients. Rhea shook her head as she went back to eating her now inert meal until someone tapped her shoulder. She looked over and saw an older Hufflepuff boy with a Quidditch Captain's pin and Hufflepuff colors smiling at her. "Susan said you warned her about the prank. Thanks for that. We are all for house pride, but I don't think I would look good on the pitch with bright yellow skin. We managed to keep the team clear of it so thanks. Oh, I am Cedric Diggory, Team Captain and Prefect." 

Ahh, this was the boy most the girls in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were crushing over. Don't see why. He is nice enough though. "Not a problem. Though you don't stand much on tradition, do you Heir Diggory?" He blushed and Rhea could swear she heard half the girls swoon. Really? "Sorry, my family is of the Noble Lines but we haven't kept up with tradition as much. Being Light and all." Rhea looked at him and sighed, "No, I don't suppose there are many Light Family's sticking with tradition. Hope they had good chroniclers. I'd offer your team a prayer or luck if I didn't think my Head of House would take it poorly. For an intellectual, he certainly enjoys Quidditch a bit too much for my tastes. See you around, Heir Diggory." Diggory nodded and left. Rhea went back to eating but stopped when she noticed half the girls in Ravenclaw staring at her. "What?" 

Pomfrey's prediction came true as the doors of the Hospital Wing flew open as soon as the Quidditch game was over. 4 girls and 3 boys from both teams were helped in, some on stretchers. One of the guys, the one on the stretcher, had a familiar mop of messy hair. "Rhea, the ladies are yours, I'll handle the boys. Make sure you document everything." Rhea took her notepad and a dictaquill. She asked her patients questions as she did her scans. "You have broken ribs, some bruising, but no internal injuries. You are showing signs of shock, exhaustion and early stages of hypothermia. All should be easy to care for and you should be out by tomorrow. Please stay flat on the bed, I will be back with your medication."

Rhea went about her work, Pompfrey looking over at her from time to time. Rhea brought each of the diagnostics to the Madam who confirmed her treatment selection and allowed her to administer the potions and balms. Of the four girls, 3 shared the same symptoms and would be out by morning. The third, a Hufflepuff, had a concussion as a complication. Rhea called the Matron over, showed her the scan and asked her if she could verify before proceeding with the treatment. Rhea looked at the girl, "You took a nasty hit to the head and it's why you're having trouble keeping your eyes open. I will be administering a potion to relieve the swelling and another so you can sleep through the night. Your cracked ribs will have to wait for tomorrow as it's not safe to mix the potions. We will check on you in the morning and administer more potions, but it's likely you will be here till Monday morning to make sure you're right as rain. Ok?"

Most of the ladies were out like a light, the girl with the concussion thanks to the Dreamless Sleep potion. Rhea would occasionally cast diagnostic spells from time to time and revise their state in her notes. A few minutes later and the doors of the Hospital Wing burst open. Rhea, operating on instinct casted a strong noise dampening spell on her patients and a silencing spell on the newcomers. The Matron came out of her office, "What do you think you're doing?" Noting that the people in front of her were silenced she looked over at Rhea, "Miss Black, please cast noise canceling spells on the rest of the patients." Rhea agreed and did so, smiling as she saw the Matron try to lift the silencing spell on the students and failing. "Miss Black, would you please lift your spell from the intruders." Rhea smiled, "I was planning to do so, after you reminded them that this is a Hospital Wing with patients, not a Quidditch pitch."

Madam Pomfrey had an amused smirk on her face. "I appreciate the sentiment but I can handle them myself." Rhea shrugged, dispelled the students and went back to work. The rowdy students spent most of their time around Potter, at least until the two people she never wanted to see walked through the doors and went to their son. Madam Pompfrey went to the Potters but noticed Rhea tensing up. She also noticed the girl casted a spell on herself. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter, your son, as you saw, took a nasty fall and suffered some Dementor Exposure. I have already given him all the necessary medication. He will be staying here overnight but will likely be up by morning. I can wake him now for you but he will be taking Dreamless Sleep for tonight." 

The boy talked happily with his parents about the game and his father promised to replace the broom he lost. It wasn't until the boy noticed who else was in the room that the mood in the Hospital Wing soured. "What's _she_ doing here?" James Potter looked at Rhea and frowned. Madam Pomfrey clarified, "Miss Black is a certified Advanced Healing student and has been here with me caring for the injured students from the game." James looked her over, "She can't be over 15." Lily chimed in, "She's in Henry's year." Pomfrey eyed James carefully, "She performed her work perfectly, with a bedside manner that many in St. Mungos would be envious of. She made sure to confer with me all her diagnostic results and had me verify one since it was a head injury. She's currently monitoring to make sure the medication is doing its job." 

Henry didn't seem to care. "It doesn't matter. She's a Black. She spends a lot of her time with Malfoy and his ilk. I swear she's helping Lestrange get into the castle." "Mr. Potter!" Henry cringed at Pomfrey's tone while James' eyes were glued on the girl. "It would probably be wise to ask her a few questions." Pomfrey stopped him from approaching her. "Ms. Black's parents have blocked anyone from having any authority over her in the school beyond academic reasons. You and Black are already in a bad place. If you interrogate her without his permission you will be bringing hell on your head."

James bristled. "I can't just ignore a potential lead on Lestrange. She already broke in here and went for Henry. There is nothing stopping her from trying again." Pomfrey pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can ask her if she's willing to be interviewed by you but I can't force her and If you try to I will personally toss you off the school grounds, Mr. Potter." His jaw was set but he nodded. Pomfrey went to Rhea and moved in front of her. She was surprised to see her with her eyes closed, muttering under her breath. It sounded like Greek. A memory flashed of a Healer in World War II; bronze hair, blue eyes, a stubborn streak and would constantly switch to Greek when agitated. Rhea's hair had streaks in it of bronze that matched her memories, and as she listened closely, the muttering was actually counting. 

Pomfrey wasn't a Mind Healer but she was trained to spot the signs. The girl was doing everything in her power to not lose control; Distraction, Sensory Deprivation, more than likely Occlumency exercises. Poppy thought back to when the change in the behaviour started. The girl had been fine with the patients. She didn't flinch with Henry Potter in the room. She handled Potter's teammates perfectly. But when James and Lily Potter stepped in she tensed. Moments later she turned around. Followed by the sound canceling spell on herself. The Potters precipitated the change and if she talked to them directly, it would probably be catastrophic. But she still needed to get her denial. She used a soft diagnostic spell on her and her hunch was right. The girl recognized it and her magic and didn't panic, but she was now very aware. The deafening spell drops, "Yes Madam Pomfrey?"

Pomfrey sighed, "I know you would like to be left alone but I still needed to ask. Mr Potter of the Aurors wishes to interview you about LeStrange's activities. I assume you aren't willing?" No flinching, but no relaxing of her body. Eyes blink in a controlled and steady manner. Her breathing is even. Too even. She is occluding her emotions hard. "You would assume correctly." She turned her eyes away and began to cast diagnostics again, writing down her observations. Mr Potter had not liked being denied but Pomfrey controlled the wards in the Hospital Wing and he could do nothing. He and his wife left after she administered Dreamless Sleep to their son.

She brewed a fresh cup of tea and placed it in Rhea's hand. She didn't draw her wand, only opened her eyes. "Calming Draught in the tea." Pomfrey smiled and led her to her office. She felt the sudden casting of privacy wards. The girl knew. "I assume you wish to know why I just closed myself off in their presence?" Pomfrey shook her head, "I only wish to know if there is anything I can help you with. A reaction like that means there is a problem that needs addressing." Rhea drank the tea, but her shoulders remained stiff. "I have enough training in both the mind and body arts to know you can't fix everything. Even time has the limit of a person's lifespan. Some hurts are too private, too deep and too overwhelming."

Pomfrey drank her own tea, her mind thinking of how the Potters could have hurt this 13 year old. "You remind me of someone. From Grindelwald's War. I was a Healer Trainee helping out wounded witches and wizards of the Coalition. One of the Healers had some similar mannerisms to you. Her name was Selene. Can't remember her family name. She was a close friend of another healer, at least they became friends later, one of your relatives actually. Dorea Black." "Prasinos. My Grandmother. She died before my time. My Mom learned medicine from her. She taught me what Grandma taught her." Rhea smiled, a genuine smile and pulled up her sleeve, revealing a Lunar Bracelet, her fingers brushing against it gently. Pomfrey remembered seeing it on Selene. "Your Grandmother's." Rhea nodded. "Mom gave it to me 4 Yules ago. Haven't taken it off since. I can feel Grandma's magic from it, makes me feel closer to her even though I never really got to be with her." Pomfrey nodded and smiled fondly.

The next few hours, with breaks to check on their patients, were spent with Pomfrey reminiscing about her Healer days with Dorea and Selene. Rhea's smile never left her face. There was no doubt in her mind the girl loved her family. She never mentioned James or his relationship to Dorea, though she was sure Rhea knew. Best leave the source of the wound alone for now. For now, the old Healer focused on seeing her student heal, a few words at a time. 

-ᛦ-

  
  


A few days after the near meltdown in the Hospital Wing, Rhea was packing up after completing the Wolfsbane potion for Professor Lupin under Snape's careful eyes. She could have made the improved version her mom developed but she didn't. Lupin was still being a git. He could use the pain. "I must admit Miss Black, despite my best attempts, your brewing skills are indeed those of a professional. Your mother's influence, I take it?" Rhea nodded. "Mom and I had an impasse about chores in the house. We settled on dividing all the work, which meant I got to help brewing. It was fun. Though I had to pick up the reaction table quickly. So far my record stands at one melted cauldron." Snape hummed, "A fine record indeed. Keep it up." 

She spent a few minutes cleaning up her workstation and taking the textbook he leant her with the old wolfsbane recipe. She slid it back in place and was turning to leave when she saw a familiar name on the spine of a book. "Professor, how many books do you have from Chantal Prasinos works?" Snape looked towards the bookshelf and saw the book she spotted. "That one and five others I keep in my office. Why?" Rhea pulled the book out and opened it. The edges were covered in hand written notes. "My Mother's Family are the Prasinos. Chantal was her Great Aunt and her Instructor in Potions. Mom lost most of her own copies of Grandmother's journals and notes to a fire. Dad got her some of the copies she was missing, but not all of them. I was curious if you had the ones she was missing. I would pay of course, for a copy of the original text, not your notes and annotations."

Snape noticed she skimmed the book, avoiding his notes. "Which are the Journals she is missing?" Rhea raised her head and bit her lip. Her mannerisms reminded him of someone. He wasn't sure who. "I believe she is missing the Third and Fourth Journals. She had her copies of the First, Sixth and Seventh, and dad got her the ones from his family's library of the Second and Fifth." Snape nodded. "I have the set of the First through Fifth journals. They are all annotated but I can bring them up to Madam Pince and she can make a proper copy without my additions." Rhea beamed, "That would be great, sir. Thank you!" Out of habit she hugged the man, causing him to tense up before patting her back. "Best leave it there, Black. I have a reputation to maintain." The girl giggled and let him go. She grabbed her bag and was heading for the door. "Miss Black." Rhea turned and he pointed. She blushed when she noted she was still holding the book she pulled from the bookshelf. She sent it to the bookshelf and gently pushed it in its place before skipping out of the room. Snape stared at the door and the blatant use of advanced magic. 

He stepped into his office and pulled out the discussed books, placing them on the table. He also pulled out a photo album. He knew she reminded him of someone and the thought was nagging at the back of his mind. He leafed through the pages, going back years. He was about to turn the page when he saw a picture of himself and Lily working on homework at the library in 5th year. Before their friendship imploded with a history of bad decisions and one blasted word. He was about to close the book when he saw it. In the picture, Lily had the same mannerism. Rhea looked like Lily in that moment. Snape wracked his brain. Lily didn't have any relatives beyond Petunia and there was no way that was her daughter. The similarities were there, but it wasn't enough. The girl looked like Lily but with bronze highlights and black hair… 

A thought smashed right through his mind and he flipped the album all the way to 1980. Lily had been mad at him for years by then but she had sent him a letter, forgiving him for his actions at school. The letter had come with a photo, Lily holding a little girl while James held a boy. Snape closed his eyes. Halley. The girl had been all but erased after that night on Halloween. Dumbledore and the Potter's officially declared her dead days later, but Snape hadn't seen them mourn as if their daughter had died. He remembered hearing about the boy crying for months afterwards, but neither of the parents seemed too concerned. As if she hadn't really died. He ran through all the memories of Rhea. Her hair was black, but not messy, streaks of bronze cutting in every once in a while. Curls were visible the few times he saw it out of a braid, looking decidedly like Black. Her eyes, they were cyan, not green. But the shape felt right. Her skin was tanner, more Mediterranean than Lily's pale complexion, but still close. 

Blood adoption. The girl had been Blood Adopted by Black and her mother. The small changes matched what a Blood Adoption would do. Blood Adoptions weren't common, usually only done if there were no more possible Heirs. Halley was a Black through Dorea, meaning a Blood adoption wasn't necessary. But they had done it with both parents, erasing all trace of James and Lily. The girl hadn't died, but she might as well have. She wasn't raised by her birth family, but she deeply loves Black and her mother. He remembered seeing her dueling Henry Potter, not an ounce of restraint beyond what the rules called for. She had been reserved but brutally efficient. She didn't care. Not for Henry or James. Not even for Lily. He closed his eyes and sighed, his words coming out in a soft whisper, "Oh Lily, what did you do to your own daughter?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, the secret's not so easy to hide from a spy's discerning eyes. Hope you all like the chapter as we move forward. Please leave a comment if you liked the chapter and ask away.
> 
> Next Chapter? Yule and a whole lot of family drama. The good kind. ;)
> 
> I do need to say that I have begun to settle some ideas for my story's endgame. I had initially been planning either no romance or some romance for Rhea, before leaving it and the character with minimal interactions. I had originally planned the romantic interest being an OFC (there is a reason there is an F/F tag on the story), but after writting a scene with a canon character, I suddenly found myself with a suitable romantic interest and one that would go through a story arc along with Rhea while also covering an element that needs exposure. I had initially dismissed this character because its really common in fanfiction, though I personally enjoy the stories with her. But the story took a life of its own and now its fitting. So, yes there is romantic character, the seeds are being sown in Year 4 and Year 5 will be the realization and relationship.


	10. Not Everyone goes Home for Yule

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is Chapter 10! Hope you all like it!
> 
> Next chapter will be out by tuesday as the Muse has been super kind and I have managed to advance further into the story and want to keep going. For the eagle eyed readers you may notice some changes in the tags, a lot is just filling out the details I hadn't gotten too at first.
> 
> Feel free to comment and see you all soon.

Rhea yawns as she heads through the castle's outer courtyard well past curfew. She had just spent some time with the Thestrals as she would be heading home soon for Yule. Well, Yule would be in France at the Prasinos Chateau, but still she'd be with her mom and dad. She really missed them a lot. Pomfrey and Snape are good at what they do and hearing about both her Grandmothers was great, but they could never hold a candle to mom. She loved her and dad so much. She was going to head inside when she spotted movement in the courtyard. A black panther was drinking from the fountain, its body taught and emaciated. The winter had frozen much of the Black Lake over, but the fountain was enchanted to remain unfrozen. As Rhea approached she could feel the magic coming from the panther. 

She used some of her magic to pin the animagus down, dropping her Disillusionment spell and gently rubbing its back. She could feel the panic in the animagus but Rhea needed to help them. "I know what you are. You are starving and likely suffering from goddess knows what. Please, let me get you some food and ease some of the pain. I promise, I will let you go on your way." The Animagus panther felt her magic and slowly began to relax. "Typsy." The little elf popped in and startled at the large feline. "Yes, I know Typsy. Think you could get a basket of food prepared, maybe a month or three's worth placed in stasis charms?" The elf nodded and popped away. 

Rhea turned to the panther, its violet eyes looking at her with careful interest. They were very pretty eyes. "I have Healer training and can help you out with your pain, but I can't do it while you're in animal form. I'd need to take a veterinarian course for that. I need you to switch back. I know that you'd rather not, and that you probably hate feeling weak and vulnerable, but please, let me help you." The Animagus stared at her eyes and Rhea felt a passive touch of Legillimancy. "I wish I could trust you enough to show you that I mean it but I am not letting anyone in my head. I can give you a temporary oath." She felt the probe of her mind end and saw the Animagus dip its head. Rhea pulled out her wand.

"I, Rheannon Black, swear on my life and magic that I will heal the person who is the Animagus in front of me to the best of my abilities in the given circumstances. I swear I will take no action to impede their escape from Hogwarts grounds and will refrain from informing anyone within the school or with intention to notify the Aurors of an intruder capable of the Animagus transformation, is or was on the grounds till an hour has passed from them leaving the Boundary Lines a single time. I swear all this on the condition that the person in question takes no further violent action on this night via physical, magical or mental means against myself, other students or faculty members. Any such action is to render my previous oaths null and void. So swear I so mote it be." The point of her wand flashed and the oath was set. Typsy popped in and placed a basket with a handle the panther could hold in its mouth next to Rhea. Rhea smiled, "Thank you Typsy. Don't mention any of this to anyone until I say otherwise. Good night." The elf nodded and popped away, leaving Rhea with an emaciated woman as she took her original form.

Rhea cast some strong notice-me-not charms in a wardline and then cleared the flat stone bench of snow and warmed it. "Please lie down on the bench. This is going to take a lot of work." The woman looked at her but kept her mouth closed as Rhea began to cast diagnostic spells. She was in really bad shape. Usually Rhea would tell the patient what she intended to do but she knew the woman wouldn't be up to any small talk. So she went at it, healing spell after healing spell, from bone realignment to cleaning out infections, from extending her stomach to handle a bit more food, to cleaning as much of her body as she could. Rhea noted a reading on the woman's abdomen and stilled. "I know you'd rather I work quietly, but for this I need your consent. You have severe signs of sexual abuse, vaginal infection as well as tearing of both your lower cavities. Any spells I cast here you will feel. May I heal your lower body?" 

The woman let out a choked groan and Rhea moved her hand and gripped hers. She looked into her pained violet eyes. "I was where you are now. I needed someone to care and heal me. They did so. Let me return the favor. Let me heal you." The woman shivered (and not from the cold) and sobbed but nodded her head. Rhea began to cast, her wand movements as gentle and light as possible. She felt the woman tense and shake but she pushed on. Eventually her lower body was healed, though the pain and memories would be with her for years. Rhea would know, the nightmares are gone but the pain would come and go. She did her best to heal what she could with spells and eventually ended. Rhea then pulled a notepad from her bag and began to write instructions as she summoned potion vials from her bag, placed them in a cloth and added them to Typsy's basket with the note. "Those were some healing potions. I wrote down which to take and when and which not to mix. They are all properly labeled. Please follow the instructions."

Rhea took off her coat and transfigured it to the right size before wrapping it around the woman. Those violet eyes stared at her. "Why?" Rhea smiled. "Because you were hurt and I could help. Besides, you are family and while others may cast their family aside, I will always care for mine." The woman closed her eyes and cried, wrapping the coat tightly around her. Rhea hugged her. "I have an idea as to why you are here and what makes you do it. I will have a means of freeing you close to May or June ready, maybe a little earlier. I imagine you are compelled not to seek sanctuary and to kill a certain boy. Can you restrain the compulsion from harming anyone for a bit? The more time you give us the better we can help you." 

Bella choked out a response. "I can delay it while I recover, after that I have to try again. It won't let me stop until he is dead." Rhea kissed her on her forehead. "Oh Persephone, give this child of my house your mercy. Oh Persephone, ye who hold all souls equal, offer this child of our blood a blessing of peace for the coming months. Oh Persephone, daughter of Demeter, bringer of spring, keep this child safe till the spring rains bless the earth. This your speaker asks now in place of her Yule prayer." Bella stills as magic fills her body, a warm glow settling into her stomach. "Go Bella. Take your panther form and the food and run to safety. I have done what I can for you now. I hope I can do more come May. The Goddess' blessing be with you." 

Bella didn't think twice. She shifted, grabbed the food and headed for the edge of the boundary lines. She saw the Dementors and was about to change direction when they parted, leaving a path for her to take. She looked back and saw the little witch with glowing cyan eyes waving at her. Her heart ached to turn back and be with what she now knew was a Black, one who cared enough for her to risk so much to help her, but the compulsion kept her from turning back. Bella rushed into the trees beyond the wards, shifted back and Aparated away.

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


"I am telling you, she had to have helped her! There is no way she got away from us without help!" Flitwick really wanted this term to end, but the appearance of Bellatrix Lestrange in the wards derailed all hope for an early Yule break. "Let me get this right, the four of you have access to a map of the school which shows everyone who is on the grounds, saw Bellatrix Lestrange's name on it, went out looking for her and only notified the staff after you failed to find her and she had already vanished from the map? Am I missing anything children?" The four Gryffindors looked properly chastised. Sadly, the former Gryffindor behind them didn't seem to care.

"Regardless of their poor decision making skills, they do have a point. Both Bellatrix Lestrange's name and Rhea Black's were missing at the same time. It is enough justification for me to interrogate her." Flitwick could feel a migraine building. He could technically let him talk to her but he refused to let her get interrogated. Especially after Pomfrey had warned him about both Henry and James Potter's fixation on her. That was a conflict of interest disaster waiting to happen. He was about to respond when the fireplace lit up, "Filius! Keep everyone's wand aimed away from me! I am coming through."

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody stepped out into his office and looked around. Flitwick was the first at his side, "What was my comment on your OWL Charm evaluation?" Moody bared his teeth, "My Confrigo was as likely to blast my legs out from under me as much as the enemy's if I didn't get my wand half rotation down right. Good to see you keeping up, Fillius." Flitwick nodded. "Always, now, before you say anything I need to ask something from two students outside." Flitwick watched as the two Weasley Twins entered his office. 

"Messers Weasley, young Mr. Potter here mentioned that the map had been in your possession and that he used it to try and track Bellatrix Lestrange. Now, Mr. Potter claims that Ms. Black has been helping Lestrange enter the castle. Have you seen Ms. Black do anything suspicious on the map?" Both shook their heads, "No sir…" "we've never…" "seen…" "scary Ms. Black…" on the map." The adults looked at each other, Remus cuts in first, "But the map can't lie! How could she be absent from it?" Fillius throws his two knuts worth of wisdom, "Miss Black's father clearly helped in the creation of the map. It's possible he taught her how to avoid being on it."

James raises his voice, "That doesn't change the fact that Rhea Black could be helping Lestrange get into Hogwarts." Moody growls, "That is why I am here Potter. Lord Black has agreed I may interview Ms. Black with only Flitwick at her side. You are staying out of it." James was furious but couldn't go against Bones' orders. Both Flitwick and Moody entered the old assistant's office where Rhea had been waiting, both men surprised to see her playing a type of game with her owl familiar, both hiding their eyes behind their hands and feathers before revealing an odd expression. "Ms. Black, this is Alastair Moody. He will be asking some questions about last night." The owl jumped on her shoulder and stayed there as she sat down on the table, its red eyes giving the gruff old Auror the chills. "Sure. A pleasure to meet you sir. Dad talks a lot about you and your safety habits. Learned a few of them myself. What can I do for you?"

"Where were you after 10pm last night?" Rhea cocked her head. "Heading back to the dorms after spending time with the Thestrals. I usually spend an hour with them every week but since I was going home, I decided to spend more time with them." Moody watched the dictaquill continue writing. "And did you see anyone on the way back to the dorms." Rhea smiled. "Sure, ran into my cousin looking bad and decided to treat them." Moody stared at her, "which cousin?" Rhea hummed "The one James Potter seems to be looking for. Must be a bad time for Lady Potter, having her man so focused on another woman." Moody couldn't help himself, he snorted. "Have you been assisting Bellatrix Lestrage in entering the castle." Rhea shook her head, "Nope. Last night was our first meeting. Family prerogative and Healers training meant I had to help her. She was in a bad way. Your DMLE should really check out what the guards are up to in Azkaban." 

Flitwick intervened, "Ms. Black, you are claiming Family's Prerogative in letting Lestrange leave school grounds." Rhea nodded. "Yup. I am not a moron though. We worked out a temporary oath that kept myself, the students and staff safe last night while I healed her. Once I got done with what I could she left via the Forbidden Forest. Haven't heard from or seen her since." Moody sighed. "Do you intend to aid her in breaking into the school in the future to harm Henry Potter, any other student or staff member?" Rhea tapped her fingers and looked as if she were considering the question. "While Potter is a prat and probably deserves a curse or three, I won't be helping Bellatrix Lestrange enter the castle to hurt any member of the student body or staff." 

The interview didn't help ease any tension between Rhea Black and the Potters, but at least Flitwick came out of it getting to know more about his student. The Aurors and the Ministry may be after Lestrange, but she and the rest of House Black see it differently. They are only interested in Bellatrix's well being, and if Miss Black's comment about Azkaban bares fruit then they do have reason to worry. Though why Bellatrix hadn't gone to Sirius Black to seek asylum was a mystery he couldn't quite solve. But then again, odd things and mysteries seemed to be part of the course with Rhea Black as a student of his. At Least with her out for Yule, the castle should be relatively quiet and relaxing. Right?

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


Of all the people to appear in the Hospital Wing, Severus Snape was by far the most common and the least unusual. He did keep her potions restocked. The unusual part of his visit today was that he arrived without any potions in hand, which made Madam Pomfrey look at him questionably. "What can I do for you, Severus?" Severus looked at her and then her office door. "A word, in private." Pomfrey placed the warning ward up at the main door and had Snape follow her into the office. Considering how early in the morning it was she served him a drink of coffee, which he downed rather quickly. "Long night?" Severus grimaced, "Most nights in a castle full of dunderheads are long nights. Aside from some of my OWL and NEWT students, Slytherin's dorms are utterly empty and I am very much looking forward to a week of rest."

Pomfrey hummed, silently agreeing with his sentiment. "I know you didn't escape the peace and quiet of the Dungeons just to drink my coffee, even if the Hogwarts elves can't get theirs to taste as good. What brings you here?" Severus grimaced behind his cup. "I may have run into some uncomfortable information. Stop looking at me like that Poppy, the only head I was in was my own." Pomfrey's glare subsided, "and?" Severus closed his eyes, "Have you noticed any _worrying_ behaviour from your student?" Pomfrey eyes narrowed on the man and he squirmed in his seat. "Tread carefully Severus, she is one of the best Healers I have worked with and a bright young girl. You do anything to hamper her future because of your feud with Black…"

"Whatever issues Black and I have, they do not involve his daughter. We have exchanged a few letters and the child and I came to an arrangement that doesn't reveal my hand while also minimising any poor interactions. Believe me, there is joy in having another proper potioneer in the school and I won't risk that either." Severus takes a drink from his mug and sighs. "While in my classes I began to notice certain mannerisms on her that were familiar, though she had a few completely foreign. Before the last full moon I had her work on Lupin's Wolfsbane potion." Pomfrey raises an eye at him. "Believe me, she made it to standards. Regardless, after she brewed it we had a small discussion and her mannerisms seemed to trigger a memory. The memory was of Lily." 

Pomfrey stilled and Severus noticed. He just stared at her and Pomfrey shared her own thoughts. "Lily Potter and her husband understandably entered the Hospital Wing after Mr. Potter's fall during the first Quidditch match. Ms. Black had been there, attending half the other patients when they entered and she just froze up. She casted a noise canceling spell on herself and proceeded to run through any number of exercises to keep her emotions in control. I didn't have the heart to ask why. So, what are you saying exactly, Severus?" Snape really wanted to let it go but if this issue wasn't addressed, there was no telling how the girl would react if the situation was forced on her. Black had outmaneuvered Potter after Bellatrix's second breach of the school grounds but there was no way of keeping him away from her forever. "I believe that Rhea Black was born Halley Potter and that between Halloween of 81 and now she had been all but abandoned by James and Lily. Black and the girl's mother raised her and Blood Adopted her sometime around his release."

The silence in the office would certainly have felt awkward to Snape if he couldn't see Pomfrey's face. The woman had gone through several emotions, including confusion, anger and horror. She rested her cup down and stared. "I imagine that whatever happened between the time she was abandoned and the time Black and Miss Prasinos took her in the girl didn't have a proper living environment. I can't tell you her medical history, but your conclusion does make a lot of questions I had make sense." Poppy sighed, "I can certainly do my best to limit her interactions with Mr. and Mrs. Potter and young Henry by extension, though aside from his blatant dislike of the girl, she hasn't shown any reaction whatsoever to the boy. I also imagine that you not only came here to me to verify your conclusion but to also enlist me in notifying her Head of House?" Severus's nod was all the confirmation she needed. She went ahead and served Severus a second cup of coffee while also preparing a cup for Fillius. 

-ᛦ-

  
  


Fillius stared into the cup of coffee Pomfrey brought to him. So much for a peaceful start to his Yule Break. He looked at the Matron and the Potions Master. "Your speculation certainly holds a lot of merit. It also explains as to why Lord Black took every possible measure to ensure that none of the Heads of Houses or the Headmaster had any capacity to affect her life within or outside the castle's wall beyond that of academic matters. I also share your concern that both Mr. Potters won't leave the girl well enough alone. I just don't know what we could do to mitigate this fiasco in the making." Pomfrey seemed to deflate in front of him. Snape does keep his head. "Personally I would say that the next thing to do would be to ask Ms. Black. If our hunch is correct, Sirius Black has been doing a surprisingly good job of keeping it quiet. The best approach would be to coordinate within him on this matter."

Fillius stares at Snape, "I don't know what to focus on in that statement of yours. Not only did you complement Sirius Black but you also suggested working with him. The last part I can give you the credit that at least it would be me dealing with Black and not you. I can only imagine what a day you would be having if she had gone to Slytherin." Snape seemed to shiver in his seat, "Either she would have taken over as queen or killed a large share of them. Can't decide which is worst." Pomfrey cuts in, "Yes, we should all be glad that Rhea's ambitions are tied to her studies. I am assuming that we will be organizing ourselves in conjunction with Black should they agree?" Fillius nodded but Severus stayed still. "Have the two of you fully realized what aiding Black in this matter entails, beyond keeping a gifted 13 year old girl from having a breakdown?" Both turned to him and waited. He sighed.

"Black, as you are aware, has been solidifying a block of Neutral Faction members since he claimed his Family's seat. He has already courted more Neutral oriented members of the Light and Dark Factions, including Malfoy. His maneuvers and actions seem to lead to a return of traditions while also catering to some more progressive ideas. This has squarely placed him in opposition not only to Potter but to our _dear_ Headmaster. If you two decide to aid Black and his daughter, you will be turning your back on Dumbledore. Can you two live with that?" The office went silent. Fillius drank from his coffee. Pomfrey broke the silence first. "Had this been 4 years ago I would have remained by Dumbledore's side. But these last few years have broken whatever faith I had in the man. A troll in the halls. A Cerberus guarding a magical item. A Basilisk running free without alerting the Ministry? And now Dementors wrapping around the school as an escaped felon stalks a student. Albus could use his influence and deal with all of this in a second but he doesn't. What's next, dragons in the forest? I can't bear to see what other horrors may visit our school like this." 

Fillius looked over at his clearly rattled colleague. "Your right Poppy. These last few years show that something else is at foot. Mr. Potter is right in the thick of it and Dumbledore seems to be playing his chess games with students' lives." He turns to Severus, "The only time he behaved in such a way that I was here for was during Voldemort's war. Is it safe to say that he isn't as dead as we've been led to believe?" Severus shook his head. "Then it's likely things will only get worse. Albus will always focus on his bigger picture and the students will only be a minor role in that vision. Even with one as important as Mr. Potter is just as likely to throw him to the wolves if he thinks the boy would grow into the tool he needs. Severus, is Black aware that Voldemort isn't dead?"

Severus' mouth thinned into a line. "I am not entirely certain, but I believe he is. He has amassed a considerable force of the Wizengamot that includes elements that kept out of the war or even funded the Dark Lord merely because he wasn't Dumbledore or the progressives. He has likely already stripped a good portion of the Dark Lord's financial support with both Malfoy and potentially Nott. Between Dumbledore or Black, I would say Black is in a better position to counter the Dark Lord, should he return. That and Black has already taken steps to safeguard the school and its students. I don't see the man being as careless with collateral damage as Albus has been so far." Flitwick looked at Pomfrey who nodded her head. 

He looked over to Snape again, "I imagine your own position won't allow you to make your support of Black as active as our own?" The amused look on Snape's face said it all. "Then Pomfrey and I will take point on this and approach Miss Black and her father once they return from their Yule celebrations. I will leave to you, Severus, how you'd like to inform us of anything that we and Black should take notice of, though your supply runs to the Hospital Wing should be a good enough cover. For now, I think we should all take these next few days to rest up. I imagine the next few years will be anything but dull."

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


"Gotcha!" Sirius had to remove a decently sized ball of snow from his face. Yule at the Prasinos was turning out to be a great idea. He got to meet so many members of Sabrina's family and Rhea could literally be just one more of the kids. Said kids and their parents had decided to go for a snowball fight in the Chateau's massive grounds, which reminded him of many wonderful winters in Hogwarts. There was only one complication with the snowball fight. His 13 year girl was _too_ good at the Disillusionment Spell. She was quite literally a ghost and the kids were using her perfectly. They would do a good push of thrown snowballs with the adults dodging and throwing back, only for Rhea to just smack them all either in the face or on the back of the head. And he couldn't even see any bloody tracks on the ground!

The snowball fight went on for an hour, ending when Seraphina called them all inside. The cheer from the victorious kids was heard throughout the house. Sabrina brought him a towel and a cup of hot chocolate. He could only smile. "She really did a number on all of you, huh?" Sirius chuckled, "It might have been more fair if you had joined us, Mage Sight and all." Sabrina smiled and it warmed his body more than the hot drink. "True, but all of us with Mage Sight did get a visit from the kids and bribed to stay out. Besides, I didn't want to spoil Rhea's fun. Or her surprise." Sirius raised his eyebrows, "Surprise?" Sabrina smiled and pointed at his shoulder. 

He looked and froze. There on his shoulder was a little owl, deep black plumage with streaks of bronze running horizontally on its chest and it was looking at him with deep cyan eyes. It let out a musical call and Sirius smiled. "So much for calling you pup." The owl made its kyoot like noise again before taking flight and landed on the floor in front of her parents. A few seconds later Sirius' jaw needed to be manually lifted up by Sabrina as Rhea switched from an Owl to a smallish canine. It looked like a scarier form of a wolf and it took Sirius a second to realize what it was. Before he could voice it, Rhea had shifted back to human form and hugged him. "I'll always be pup to you, Dad." So Sirius followed his family into the large room with so many other families scattered around. He decided to just not talk about his little girl having a Grim as an Animagus form, especially when it was still a cute looking puppy.

The gathering was wonderful as he kept chatting with so many people from all walks of life. A few were even non-magical, who were taught the secret and used their knowledge of the non-magical world to help hide any potential evidence. Cameras and electronics were becoming more widespread and hard enough to counter with magical means alone. After a few moments he spotted Sabrina mear Seraphina and he knew his moment had come. He moved towards her as their eyes met and me gave her his most heartfelt smile as he began to kneel in front of her. Chatter around him ended as he pulled out a small ring box. He knew she would yell and smack him later for how expensive the ring was and he just couldn't care. He opened the box and looked at Sabrina's sapphire eyes.

"Sabrina Selene Prasinos. Four years ago you became a part of my life. You are the most beautiful woman in the world to me and the mother of my daughter. By your side I have known a joy that I never expected to ever find. When I am near you I can only ever feel happiness and when you smile at me I can honestly say I could die happy. Would you honor me, Sirius Orion Black, by accepting me as your fiance and future husband?" The silence is deafening in his ears and he can hear his blood pumping. Her eyes go to the ring, beautifully shaped platinum with waning and waxing moons down the sides and a sapphire rimmed by smaller diamonds in the center. He can tell she loves it and wants to smack him for it. 

"Sirius Orion Black! I should just say no to you and smack you on the head for what I know to be a truly expensive ring! You waited until I was surrounded by family knowing full well what my response would be!" Sirius swore he saw smoke coming out of her ears but all thought in his mind abruptly stopped when she grabbed him by the tie, pulled him up to stand and smashed her lips against his. He could taste some blood as her teeth pulled and nipped at his lips. Eventually he broke the kiss and if his higher brain was working he would have noticed a few adults covering their children's faces, though Rhea kept her eyes on them and Seraphina just couldn't deny her granddaughter the sight of her parents getting engaged. Sabrina did notice his brain had stopped working and playfully slapped the back of his head.

"My answer to you Sirius Orion Black is, yes." Their next kiss is loving and tender as the chamber suddenly filled with cheers and whoops. A black and bronze haired missile launched itself at them and hugged them for dear life. Seraphina was already beginning to make a few plans for the future wedding and the Prasinos family descended on the fiances, Sabrina sporting an embarrassed blush and Sirius the biggest grin of his life. Rhea made sure to check around and ask every person in the room with a camera to send her photos of tonight. In the morning presents would be opened and families would laugh, smile and enjoy the Yule season. For three people though, they didn't have to wait till morning. They already had the best Yule present they could ever ask for. 

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


In a cave overlooking the valley where Hogwarts Castle stood, a lone woman could be found eating from a basket full of food, much of it still under stasis spells. When the beautiful girl had pinned her down with magic, she had thought that she was done for. She would certainly get the Dementor's Kiss. Instead the girl had turned out to be family; Family! She made her an oath that didn't conflict with her orders and Bella had been healed. She was still weak and frail but the potions and food were helping and soon she'd be healthy again. She honestly couldn't remember feeling like this. It was in this happy mindset that a pitch black owl landed in front of her carrying a note and a brightly colored box.

_Hi Bella!_

_We hope this note finds you safe and recovering. Dad wanted to personally retrieve you as soon as I told him about seeing you but we both know the compulsions would have forced you to flee or kill him and we really need him. My promise to you is still going and we should have a remedy by late April. I know you are likely to go out and hunt a Potter again but if you can work it to keep your hunts at a minimum and stay safe then everything should work out. Oh, and the present should come in handy. Azkaban slacks and the clothes you nicked don't do you justice. I know you won't be able to send letters back but do keep an eye out for Nyx here, she will find you no matter where you are. By the time we meet again could you tell me if you prefer me to call you Cousin or Aunt Bella. Andy and Cissa already gave their votes to Aunt so that leaves you. See you soon!_

_With Love,_

_from House Black_

  
  


Bella couldn't help but cry as she finished reading the note. She thought she had lost her family when her father sold her off to a man she hated. She thought she would die in Azkaban and for the longest time that had been her wish. For the pain to end and just be done with it. But her family was still there. Her sisters were waiting to bring her home! Switching into the runed stitched clothing Bella slipped into a dream, tears streaking down her cheeks. For the first time in years they were tears of joy. 

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


This year was Nyx' first as a delivery owl and she made sure to deliver her packages where her Mistress specified. The woman in the cave's smile would please her Mistress, it was the one package she had worked hard to find someone to get it ready. Mistress was only good at poking holes in her fingers with needles. Best keep her away from the warm cloth that makes clothes. Her next delivery required her to navigate the castle where Mistress studied and reach the dark place beneath the earth. She found the door belonging to the man with greasy hair. His face made Nyx squawk with pleasure as she dropped off the two books Mistress had sent for him. She then found the office high in the towers where the part goblin who Mistress studied under was. Mistress sent him some books on enchanting parchment and ink. She said the part goblin wanted to copy something and needed a helping hand.

The rest of her day she traveled across the British isle, dropping off gifts to family and acquaintances alike. She let the Black with the weird hair colors pet her feathers and drank from her water. The owl treats were nice! Mistress had sent her some boots made of firebreather scales inscribed with some balance and anti magic runes. Mistress wanted her family safe and she would make sure of it. The men and women behind the heavy wards were surprised to see Nyx drop off gifts to their elves. Most of the old houses would be getting enchanted and engraved fountain pens with different inks for them to write on their papers. When Nyx returned to the Grandmother's place in the continent she spotted her Mistress on the roof, her owl calls making Nyx happy. The two owls would fly the darkening sky as Nyx taught her Mistress to fly with wings. She only hit two tree branches and a closed window, the last making Nyx squawk with laughter. Mistress still had much to learn.

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


Draco found himself on the receiving end of a hug. Usually he would mind but Rhea was an exception. He liked when she hugged him. "Hello Cousin, did you and your family have a good Yule night?" Draco smiled at her. "We did. Thank you and your Family for the gifts. Father has been trying out the fountain pens and likes them. Mom loved the photos you found at Grimmauld Place of her and her sisters and the gloves and pads for Quidditch feel great!" Rhea laughed, the sound warming him inside, "I am glad you liked your gift and thank you for the hair pins." Rhea noted the appearance of his parents. "Lord Malfoy, Aunt Narcissa, Happy New Years Eve. Thank you for inviting the family into your home." Narcissa pulled the polite girl into a hug. "You and your family are always welcomed here, my dear. Nymphadora is already inside and Andy and her husband should be here soon. Please make yourself comfortable."

Rhea lets Draco lead her to the Family Room in Malfoy Manor where they would all be gathering. Dora barely has a second before her cousin tackles her but she keeps balance. "Where's the fire, cousin?" Rhea beamed, "Yes! You're wearing my present!" Dora blinked at her and smiled. "I have had them on every day and haven't tripped since. Even that cursed Troll Leg at Grimmauld Place left me alone." Rhea stilled and Dora noticed, "What?" Rhea squirmed, "I don't think I should say." Dora just stared at her and Rhea relented. "The Troll leg wasn't cursed, it was Kreacher putting it in your way. He sorta blamed you for making Bella cry when your mom left the house. I had to sit him down and get him to tell me about any other thing he was doing. You shouldn't have any issues at Grimmauld from now on, unless you take the boots off." The last she said with a bit of cheek. 

Dora hugs Rhea. "Thanks for that. I guess I should probably spend some time talking to Kreacher. Oh, did you get the book? Any other changes?" Rhea shook her head and Draco frowned. "Changes?" Dora let go of Rhea and he saw her close her eyes and focus. Her Black and Bronze hair became blonde then red before reverting to her two tones. Draco stared, "You're a Metamorphmagus too?" Rhea shook her head, "Not like Dora. I can't change shape at all, or skin tone or eye color. Mom mentioned how my hair never really needed a haircut and Dora said I could have some trace skills. My hair can change color and length but I have to focus hard. Probably doesn't help that I like how I look so I am not really motivated to shift."

Dora gave her a wicked grin. "Any changes in plumbing yet?" Draco didn't get what she said and based on Rhea's reaction, he probably didn't want to know. Rhea's face turned bright red and she proceeded to chase Dora across the large family room, cursing in what he assumed was Greek and casting wandless stinging hexes at her pink haired and laughing cousin. When the adults arrived they all had a chuckle at seeing the two chasing each other. He had no idea how neither had knocked anything over or why his parents didn't stop them. But he was glad they were there. His house really hadn't felt like a home like that until New Year's Eve. It felt right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had debated writing a scene between Rhea and Bella this early. My initial idea had been a running duel that ended just out of the ward line, but I realized that I wanted something more intimate for my two ladies. The addition of the earlier Bella scene at Azkaban fed perfectly into this and I couldn't be happier at the result. Dora is still Dora, but having someone like a little sister to her brings out more of her devilish side. 
> 
> Next Chapter: The fallout of the discussion in Yule, and Rhea being Rhea.


	11. Hard Truths and Messy Relations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most Chapters will be posted around 4pm UTC, noon for me as its when I can safely say I have done the proper review before posting. As stated before, these Chapters will continue to be posted approx 1 every 2 days, for my sanity, the quality of work and letting the Muse run wild. Any changes to this will be posted on here ahead of time. Said Muse has apparently taken recidence in my head, as I have just completed the chapter covering the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament.
> 
> This is a short Chapter but it does setup much in it and shows more of Rhea in her element. Hope you all enjoy.

A week after her return to Hogwarts, Rhea got a summons from her Head of House. She tried going over anything she might have done to get his attention. She hadn't cursed or jinxed any Ravenclaws since they teased her about Cedric. Cho Chang apparently has dibs on the boy and was planning something for their game against Hufflepuff. Not that Rhea really cared about Quidditch or Cedric, he was a nice enough boy. She got on great with the Slytherins. While most of Gryffindor left her alone, some of Henry's fan club tended to get on her nerves. She hadn't cursed any of them yet. And the Weasley Twins were nice once she gave them a few brewing tips, a lesson on what was funny and what was bullying, and to leave her Luna and the 1st and 2nd years alone. 

So Rhea had no idea why she was getting a call to Flitwick's office. The door opened and she saw her Head of House. "You wanted to see me professor?" He nodded his head and motioned for her to take a seat. "Yes, Miss Black. Last year's little excitement before Yule simply brought a few things into perspective. Now let me say that I find your commitment to family to be admirable beyond reproach and as long as no lives are threatened I cannot in good conscience impede you from helping out your cousin Bellatrix, should she return to the castle. All I ask is that you try to be more discreet. Young Mister Potter and his friends already look poorly on you and are likely to continue chasing you in hopes of catching your cousin in a trap. Do be careful."

Rhea nodded, "I thank you for the warning Professor. I had guessed that Potter and his group would probably continue to be a problem. While I had no plans on personally getting together with my cousin, I suppose caution on who is around me at any given is a good policy to follow. Constant Vigilance and all that." The last she said with a smirk and Fillius laughed. "I sincerely wish Moody doesn't end up giving you any personal lessons. Who knows what paranoid ideas you could come up with together." Fillius looked sad and Rhea wasn't sure why. "Some of my colleagues came to me over the break and we discussed some difficult subjects and I wanted to be the one to ask. Miss Black, were you born Halley Potter?"

Fillius wanted to regret ever asking her that. Because the sheer terror that went down his spine as soon as the words registered wasn't normal. Nothing in the office had moved, there was no reason to be scared. Yet he was absolutely petrified. Though his fear seemed to ease as his mind caught back up to him and he noticed one thing had changed. The Gray Lady was in his office and was holding Rhea Black down, speaking to her in whispers. Rhea was not very still in the seat. At times she seemed a statue, rigid and motionless yet in a split second her body would tremble as if her emotions were barely in check. Probably because they were. It took a few minutes of the Gray Lady's care before Rhea finally calmed down, though it was only as the Grey Lady released the girl that he realized that the ghost was able to physically hold Rhea down. 

Rhea took deep breaths, "Thank you Helena." The Gray Lady nodded her head as Rhea fixed her gaze on the Professor and now Fillius could understand where the fear came from. Those weren't the eyes of a 13 year old girl. So much anger and pain. "Professor, please tell me that there is no way this information is making its way to the Headmaster." He shook his head and her eyes softened. The anger was gone, but the pain lingered. "Who knows and why?" Fillus didn't have to lie. "Only myself, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape. None of us intend to reveal the information to the Headmaster or to the Potters. Snape was the first to make any sort of connection but until he heard about your run in with the Potters in the Hospital Wing, it was merely conjecture."

Rhea lets out an exacerbated laugh. "Leave it to the spy to see through everything, though to be fair he is intimately aware with all who were involved." Rhea leans down and cups her face with her hands. Helena gently rubs her back. Fillius is surprised by the close bond between the Hogwarts Ghost and his student but decides to err on the side of caution. One intimate question at a time. "Professor Snape has mentioned that your father is making alliances and friends, many in the interest of protecting the students of the school, especially from the machinations of a Headmaster that forgets that any lives lost are a travesty. Snape is unable to take any obvious position and we are limited in our positions but we are willing to join the effort."

Rhea pulled up and her cyan eyes looked at him and a part of his mind felt as if his soul was being judged. The feeling passed and all that he saw in front of him was a tired 13 year old. A part of him regretted the part he played in getting her into such a state. "I would suggest you send an owl to my father, asking to see him regarding my academic performance. You are even welcome to have said discussion. I will let him know about what you said. Can you …" Rhea seemed to shudder " … can you inform Madam Pomfrey that I won't be able to join her today in the Hospital Wing? It isn't wise to use Healing Magic when one's magic is out of focus." Flitwick nodded, "I will Miss Black and please know that the three of us will try our best to keep the elder Potters away from you." Rhea nodded, "That … would be greatly appreciated."

Once the girl waa out of the room Fliwick turned to the Grey Lady. Her eyes bore into his, "There is a reason our school motto is what it is Professor. Everything can be as smooth and comfortable as one can want, until someone decides to wake a sleeping dragon. Godric had the unfortunate fate of doing just that and it took all the Founders to keep the dragon at bay. Dragon's may not be as prevalent now as in the past, but magical forces of nature still exist and can be found in the most unlikely of forms. Make no mistake, there is a "dragon" in the school, Professor." The ghost walked towards the office door and slipped right through. Flitwick shivered at the warning. He had a letter to write and a meeting to organize. 

-ᛦ-

  
  


Rhea was in a foul mood all day. She did the tasks and spells but anyone could tell her mind was elsewhere. Most of the students gave her a wide berth, especially Ravenclaw and Slytherin. They had benefited from her impromptu study sessions greatly and didn't want to set her off. Sadly not everyone could take a hint. Rhea could feel them behind her. Her eyes could see nothing but the sound of the stone underneath their feet. And of course there were these spells woven into the fabric. Rhea and Sabrina could easily see through most Disillusionment charms and invisibility cloaks because of Mage Sight, but this one would be impossible to see, except for the spells someone wove into the fabric. Someone _wanted_ to be able to see this cloak. 

Rhea would typically have made a more elaborate plan to deal with this situation, but simplicity wasn't overrated. She turned a corner, disillusioned herself and waited. The people under the cloak stopped, hurried across the hallway and looked everywhere. Eventually they pulled the cloak of their bodies, revealing the forms of Henry Potter and Neville Longbottom, the former cursing, "Blast. She's gone. Where could she have gone?" Neville shook his head, "No clue and your Dad's map apparently doesn't show her, even if we still had it." Henry growled. "I know she must be up to something. She was mad all day. Bet you one of her plans with Bellatrix didn't work out. Let's head up to Ravenclaw Tower and wait her out. She's bound to turn up there." 

Rhea trailed behind the two third year Gryffindors as they moved around the castle, the cloak held in their hand. Are they really this dense? Scratch that, they are somehow convinced that a 13 year old was planning to kill them when they had barely said anything to each other. They really are that dense. She waited for a corner that would put them close to each of the common rooms without any portraits around before stunning them all silently from the back, too close for either to do anything other than crumple onto the stone. She casted some notice-me-not spells and then bent down to inspect her brother. His hair was as messy as hers had been before Mom and those glasses really didn't do him any favors. That scar though. Dorea had mentioned what the scar was supposed to do. It was meant to connect to hers and transfer her protection to him. 

She really wanted to hurt her birth family. Had they left things well enough alone they would have shared so much together. She would have kept him safe. Now the tether was broken and she really couldn't care. He was a self righteous bully, like both their dad's had been. Sirius outgrew his need to bully with the weight of fatherhood on his shoulders while James found an outlet for his problem. Could Henry outgrow it? Maybe. But she didn't care. Her family is her Mom and Dad, Draco was like the brother she always wanted and Nymphadora was the crazy but cool sister. She didn't need anything more. She was happy. Feeling her mood lift, she turned her attention to the cloak. Taking it into her hand she felt an instant connection.

The cloak had a will of sorts. Primitive but still there. A desire to protect its owner but to also guarantee succession. Rhea now understood. Peverell's Cloak of Invisibility. Designed to aid their masters until they produce an heir and the cloak is passed on. Rinse and repeat. As she felt the cloak in her hands she debated whether to take it or leave it with the bumbling duo. Or was it quartet? It clearly wanted to stay with Rhea, its magic had literally melded with hers. But if she kept it, Potter would just blame her for his missing cloak (even if a student owning one was illegal), this time being correct in his accusations. Rhea decided to test something first. She opened the cloak and covered her brother's body with it. She smiled. The Cloak was _hers_. It knew that now. She could see it as clear as day on his body, even without the woven spells. Rhea made her choice. Henry could keep it for now. She still had a few heirlooms to find, but she knew she could get this one easily enough. 

Rather than just leave the two Gryffindors napping, Rhea made the smart decision to build a cover they could believe. A long bit of transfigured piano wire, an upside down transfigured bucket high over their heads and traces of dreamless sleep potion in said bucket. The perfect trap for two Gryffindors to trigger, with nothing missing on their persons and no need for anyone to have been lurking for it to hit someone. Their injured pride alone will keep them quiet. Rhea lifted the notice-me-not charm on them and left, silent and disillusioned, with a bit more spring in her step. Her dreams that night were more restful, even as she dreaded her next Healer's class. Pomfrey liked to talk and Rhea had an idea what her next subject was going to be. 

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


Rhea wanted to groan. Pomfrey had been the perfect picture of quiet efficiency. Until the third game of Quidditch in the season where Slytherin played Gryffindor. The Hospital Wing saw 8 injured players, including her cousin Draco. She had actually been at the game because Draco had asked her to come watch him play. So she did. Slytherin won the game, but just barely and Draco had followed Henry Potter into a dive. Both of them hit the ground hard but Henry skidded off while Draco had a head on collision. Henry caught the snitch but the Slytherin team had made one last throw through the hoops. It was enough for them to beat Gryffindor by ten points. Rhea would have celebrated if her attention had been on anything other than Draco.

Cracked skull, injured forearms and knees, some bruised ribs from a Bludger impact and a concussion. Rhea had conjured a stretcher, placed him in a full body bind and levitated him to the Hospital Wing. Safe to say, neither Rhea or Pomfrey had been amused that day. Rhea worked on Draco and the Gryffindor Chasers, all the girls were sporting bruised ribs, cracked arms and exhaustion, with the youngest, Katie Bell, joining Draco on concussion watch. The Gryffindor keeper, one of their beaters, a Slytherin Chaser and Henry rounded out the injured. Pomfeey took the rest of the boys after Rhea refused to leave Draco unattended. 

Of course, the fact that both a Malfoy and a Potter were injured enough for the Hospital Wing meant only one thing: two sets of parents entering almost at the same time. Rhea had the good sense of casting noise dampening spells on all the patients, including Draco but excluding Potter. Of the two he'd be out before nightfall so she couldn't really care less. She kept out of the ensuing noise for as long as she could. When Pomfrey looked like she was going to blow a gasket, Rhea had enough. 

Rhea silenced everyone and let off a cannon shot blast from her wand. She glared at both sets of parents, the opposing effect of their presences making her emotions go haywire. She settled on angry. "Lord and Lady Malfoy, as the one who was literally at your son's side from the moment he hit the ground, I can tell you he will be perfectly fine _if_ he is allowed to rest for the weekend. Lord and Lady Potter, Madam Pomfrey has already provided you with your son's prognosis, of which I am not privy. I know from our family reunions that you can behave yourself with decorum Lord Malfoy, despite my own Father's childlike antics. As for you, Lord Potter, I am not above stunning you and placing you on a medical gurney if it gives this Hospital Wing the peace and quiet it requires. Professor Potter, if your husband can't behave himself, I expect more from you as a staff member. Get him under control before I do!"

Rhea turned back to her diagnostics before she remembered something. She dispelled the silencing spells on the Malfoys and Pomfrey. "Lord and Lady Potter, the silencing charms on your person will expire in 30 minutes. You are welcome to try and fail in dispelling them. Lord and Lady Malfoy, I have your son's latest reading and will happily provide you with the full list of injuries and prognosis but in short he will likely be leaving the Hospital Wing by Monday morning in time for class." The next 30 minutes were the single most blissful moments of her entire time as a part time Healer. Yes, she was riding the high of hexing her sperm and egg donors and getting away with it, even with a seriously skulking James Potter. Lily Potter looked positively embarrassed by the whole mess. Eventually the two sets of parents left, with Rhea promising the Malfoy's daily and nightly reports.

Rhea relaxed into the seat in Pomfrey's office and enjoyed the smell of the offered tea. Not as good as Grandma Seraphina's but still nice. Pomfrey chuckled to herself after sealing the door and raising the privacy wards, "If I ever needed a moment to prove you were Dorea's granddaughter, that was clearly it. She did follow through on her threats a few times when some hit wizards got too rowdy around her charges. I believe she personally dropped Charlus three times for annoying her while she worked." Rhea snorted at that. "I think Sirius mentioned Dorea threatening him and… James with stunners if they kept sneaking into the kitchen at night. Sirius says it never happened, but them being kids I wouldn't be surprised. Kids aren't supposed to know better, adults are. Plus I imagine motherhood rounded out some of the rough edges we Blacks have."

Pomfrey nodded. "I imagine it does indeed." She stared at Rhea who just stared back. "I have gone several years living as an entirely different person, so don't expect me to broach the subject first. I would very much rather the world kept on forgetting there was a girl born to the Potters. It didn't care for her after Samhain of 81 and it never did again." Pomfrey sighed, "Your parents cared." Rhea nodded, "Mom found me and got me back to health. Things I should have lived through from the moment I was born, I was only introduced to them so many years later. Dad came around and did the same. By that moment I was Rhea. As far as I am concerned there is only Rhea." She looked into the tea and the reflection of the light in it. "Halley Potter died in 1981. It just took her 7 years for her body and mind to register that fact." Pomfrey winced at the tone.

The rest of the night went quietly, with neither talking except about the condition of the patients. Eventually the two would go back to the old normal, talking about medicine, magical and non-magical, Selene and Dorea and the headaches of running a Hospital Wing where Quidditch was the most common source of injury. Pomfrey never broached the subject again. Rhea's tone held a finality to her words. While Pomfrey cared for her student she could see that the girl was sure who she was and where she belonged. She hoped no one ever tried to lump her together with the Potters. It would probably be their funeral.

-ᛦ-

  
  


"Miss Black." Rhea signed as she corked her last vial from a batch of the Skele Gro Potion she had been working on. Pomfrey's supply had taken a hit after the Gryffindor and Slytherin game and not just because of the players. The Gryffindors had felt cheated, despite Hooch's doing a fine job calling out fouls, of which there had been several that game. So kids not caring about what the adults said decided to show their displeasure by shoving or hexing the Slytherin's near the stairs. Quite a few students were injured, many seriously and in need of medical attention. Dumbledore had tried to dismiss it as "kids being kids'' but as many of the kids were from Noble families and one, Daphne Greengrass, was the daughter of a Governor, the Board came in and passed out its own punishments. 

The points for Gryffindor were frozen at zero and would remain that way till the new academic year, the students caught, including Ronald Weasley, were given detention till the end of the year and a permanent note attached to their file. Any further displays of violence without justifiable (to the Board) cause would earn them an immediate expulsion from the school. If too young, they would be allowed to sit their OWLs, but not their NEWTs except for outside of Britain. Dumbledore had tried to ease it all down but the Board wasn't having it. The school is supposed to be a safe place for ALL students. Injuries in sport are expected, life threatening bullying would not be.

"Yes Potions Master?" Snape looked over and nodded. "I believe this is enough to restock Madam Pomfrey's supplies. I have been planning to test your ability in pre-mixing potions into single doses, as one would find among Auror supplies. Do you feel up to it?" Rhea beamed but began to worry. "If they are mixed without the need for Alchemy I should be fine. I…found out that I don't have the talent for Alchemy." Snape looked at her, an eyebrow raised, "And how exactly did you evaluate your proficiency with Alchemy?" Rhea had a fond smile on her face,"Nicholas and Perenelle had me stirr in some of my magic into a Nigredo mixture for a Philosopher Stone. My magic sorta … turned the entire alchemic mixture magically inert. Nicholas was distraught while Perenelle laughed."

Snape just stared at her. "I imagine you are referring to the Flamels?" Rhea nodded, "They were really nice! Showed me a lot of books and notes they accumulated over the years. Mom had a near heart attack when Perenelle gave her some of her own Potioneering notes. Nicholas was sad I couldn't take after them in Alchemy but he was nice about it. Left me some notes I could use for my family magic. Did warn me off to steer clear of Alchemy. Something about "sparing the world the horror of knowing someone capable of erasing all his works with but a stir of an Alchemist's rod." Whatever that means." Snape shook his head. "Well, while I am glad to know there won't be any explosions and melted cauldrons in your future as my student, the idea of you erasing a month's work with your poor alchemic skills is more than enough reason to keep all alchemic projects off your desk."

The two began to pour over a book on potion mixtures and selected the ones they wanted to work with. Rhea began putting everything away and was ready to leave when she looked at the Professor. "I know that Pomfrey and Fillius have at least tried to talk to me about my past. Why not you?" Snape stared at her and then past her, as if entering a memory. "I am probably the least capable person to deal with aiding another in moving past their worst moments. I am certainly hounded by both my past and my mistakes." His eyes focused on her again, "I believe you have found something more important than what you lost and understand just how valuable it is. While your past may one day make things difficult for you, Miss Black, I believe you are already equipped with everything you need to move beyond it. There is nothing else for me to say."

Rhea and Snape just stared at each other before Snape found himself receiving a hug. "You might not like being a teacher, but you make a great Head of House. The Slytherins are lucky to have you, Potions Master." It took a moment for the man to realize she was already gone from his lab. He had received a few shows of gratitude before by his students and he hated to admit it but the young Miss Black was right. Perhaps there was more for him to do, beyond just keeping dunderheads from exploding his potions lab.

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


The months came and went and April was turning into May. Dumbledore had tried to prevent her from leaving for Imbolc but he didn't put as much effort into it as he did Samhain. The Greengrass family had invited several of the Neutral Bloc Families, as well as some more Neutral leaning Houses, like the Malfoys, the Notts, Bones, Davis, Abbotts, and even the Longbottoms and the Diggory's. The last two declined the invitation, though Madam Longbottom was more remorseful in her reply. The families that did arrive all gathered outside at a massive tent and feast table, the bonfires being handled and prepared by the Lords and boys of the invited Houses under Lord Greengrass' supervision.

Rhea had enjoyed meeting little Astoria, who would be joining them at Hogwarts the following year. She did hate that she saw a blood curse inside of the young blonde. It was deep and well rooted, but Blood Magic was a specialty of hers. Maybe it was for the best the Light families weren't here. They would certainly not approve. Rhea stuck to Astoria like glue and the girls took notice of it. Daphne kept a sharp eye on her, worried over her sister. They all worked hard making Bridgid crosses for everyone and a few Bridgid dolls. Rhea may have snuck some of Astoria's hair into hers. By the setting sun, the whole group of wixen gathered under the tent and celebrated. Mom and Dad's engagement was officially announced to the group, leading to the Ladies of the Houses dragging Sabrina to the side and tying Spring Flowers into her hair.

The celebrations turned to the bone fires and the Members of each House intermixed with the others. Rhea approached Lord Greengrass and sat by his side. "You and your family are worried about Astoria's health, aren't you?" He stared at the 13 year old girl who refused to waver. "I can understand your concern and your fears sir. A maledictus this deep and violent has probably taken many of your family from you. Would you allow us the chance to cleanse it from Astoria tonight in a time of healing and renewal?" Cyrus Greengrass just stared, old pain making his eyes shine with magic. "What would you know of a maledictus?" Rhea looked at her mom and bit her lip. She hoped she didn't make her and dad mad.

"My mother is a Blood Mage, properly taught and skilled from the Continent. She's been teaching me the craft as I share an Affinity to it. I don't have her expertise or practice but I have a deeper connection to the magics. I can see the maledictus as it's anchored to Astoria. If you allow us to use your ritual chamber on this night, and to use what materials you have available, I believe we can cleanse her of it permanently. The maledictus attached to your family, as all maledictus are, is an affront to Blood Mages. For us, blood is magic, to be shed when needed and cleansed when tainted. This is a taint all Blood Mages would be willing to counter in the hopes of easing the pain one of our own has inflicted on others. Would you allow us the chance to correct the great disservice done to your family?"

The next half an hour was spent by the guests gathering all the necessary materials. Sabrina improvised and chose to use charcoal from the Imbolc fires instead of chalk. She made a giant Brigid Cross instead of a Pentagram. At the outer points, offerings of Bridgid crosses, dolls, spring flowers and water blessed ribbons were placed. On the dais, surrounding Astoria, was a collection of spring flowers, tied together with water blessed ribbons and in Astoria's hands was the Bridgid doll made by Rhea, marked with Astoria's hair and blood. The children were all left with Lord and Lady Abbott as the rest took their place around the ritual circle.

The ritual took 30 minutes to carry out. The maledictus was strong and resistant, made with great anger and hate. Sabrina would have collapsed if Rhea hadn't shared her magic through the bond they possess. By the time the ritual was complete, all the offerings had burned out, the flowers around the dais turned red and black, and the doll reeked of cursed magic. All the tainted remnants of the ritual were burned together in one last bonfire. Sirius held his little girl in his arms as Sabrina rested on his shoulder as Lady Abbott diagnosed Astoria. Her gasp of surprise and the Greengrasses joyous cheers were all the proof he needed of the success of his beautiful ladies. 

Come morning Rhea found herself the recipient of a rib crushing hug courtesy of Daphne, with the Slytherins nearby swearing to never reveal the fact that the Ice Queen of Slytherin did indeed have a heart. All it took for it to be seen by others was a little girl who couldn't bear to see another's sister suffer. The Greengrass family would never forget the gift of a future that the Blacks returned to them, nore would the others dismiss the merit of having Blood Mages on their side. While one girl found her future freed from a centuries old curse, the Noble Houses found common ground as the bonds that tie them become all the stronger. The Neutral bloc had found its core.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment on how you liked it, any questions or thoughts. They are all appreciated.
> 
> Next Chapter: Rhea has a job to do. ;)


	12. Breaking the Unbreakable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter. A bit short, but I simply couldn't fit more in to it without detracting from what I wanted. Hope you all like it and please leave a comment.

The days after Imbolc marked a change among the students of Hogwarts and the Members of the Wizengamot. Many Houses from the edges of the Light and Dark Factions officially entered into an alliance with House Black and the rest of the Neutrals, marking the official beginning of the Neutral Bloc. The Light and Dark Factions now found any and all of their legislations requiring the Neutrals input or approval to even have the chance to pass. The Light was hit the hardest, as the Neutrals began to strip away bans against practices, restrictions on certain books and the lifting of gag orders against certain debate topics. A new balance of power would begin to settle in the Chambers of the Wizengamot, and the more radical changes were yet to be brought to their attention.

In Hogwarts, Rhea's position became strengthened amongst 3 of the 4 Houses. As finals would soon become the focus of teachers and students alike, Rhea found herself the centerpoint for a lot of impromptu tutoring lessons. Rhea eventually gave in and with help from her friends they began a proper study group, with tutoring shared along the more capable students and an abandoned classroom as their meeting point. Rhea begrudgingly took a more flexible position, as she was too advanced in most subjects to actively lead the students from the subject matter they were covering. She did join Draco in leading the potions study sessions. Her cousin knew how to get her to cave in. Bloody peacock!

The year came to a head as soon as April was close to turning to May. Flitwick and Rhea had been discussing how many courses she could technically get the OWLs for during next year, when they both spotted a name on his completed version of the castle map (he had been right crass with her when Rhea's name still refused to appear on the page). Rhea was heading to the door when Flitwick called out to her. "Miss Black. Do be careful. Auror Potter is likely to arrive soon because of his own map and while Family Privilege allows you to ignore Aurors when they come after you because of Bellatrix, it doesn't give you the right to attack them outright." Rhea huffed, "And here I thought I had the perfect reason to curse James Potter in the back." Fillius' raised eyebrow made her laugh as she rushed out the door. 

Rhea took advantage of not appearing on the map and called Nyx to her, the two popping out in the hallway and reappearing disillusioned on one of the stone slabs near the path towards Hagrid's Hut and the Forbidden Forest. She could see the shapes of Potter and his men scattering across the clearing, trying to surround Bella, who was lying low to the ground in her panther form. Rhea needed to remember getting her a gift with a panther on it. Bella's form when she now had some weight and muscle was beautiful. She was about to jump down when she heard a howl. Rhea spotted something ill shaped as it tore through the clearing, straight for Bella. The glow of the moon on her skin turned from comforting to scalding. 

"Damn it Bella, why did you attack on the night of the full moon! Of course Potter would let his friend loose despite the Board's ruling!" Taking down a werewolf, half a dozen Aurors while not exposing herself wasn't going to be easy. Then she heard another voice. "Dad, Moony and his Aurors have her surrounded, come on let's make sure she doesn't get away!" Rhea wanted to scream as she saw the 3 Gryffindor boys and 1 girl move down the path underneath her. "Of all the rotten…" Rhea's mind stopped as she thought about it. James and Remus might be hunting Bella right now, but if Henry was endangered, they would assuredly go to save him. It was underhanded and mean. Salazar would be proud.

Rhea and Nyx found themselves deep in the woods as she called on her Earth and Blood Magic. She had only ever really used her connection with Death's Creatures but she technically could influence the wills of others. Using Dementors would tip off the Ministry that there could be a Necromancer up and about and they just weren't ready to be adults about it. Rhea smiled. "But there is no way of telling why a pack of wolves found the Hogwarts grounds so inviting. Maybe the werewolf drew them in." She felt the wolves close in on her as she focused her mind. Wielding her own blood was the easiest thing for a Blood Mage, but affecting another's still inside their body was another matter. Still… she smiled as she felt the connection but stumbled as she linked herself to the minds of the pack. There were a lot more complex thoughts than she expected. 

A few minutes later, after applying magical resistances and other short term magical benefits to the wolves, Rhea set them loose. They would attack the kids and Aurors but keep their distance when it became too dangerous, stalking their faux prey. She and the Hogwarts elves would be having a lot of words. These wolves will be needing a lot of meat to repay them for this service. Shifting into her owl animagus form, she and Nyx watched the altercation. Her guess had been on the nose. Remus dropped his fight with Bella and went straight for the kids when he heard the howls and the screams, James and 3 other Aurors soon left with him. That left 2 Aurors and one injured but angry Panther. Rhea decided to even the odds and hit the ground as her Grim animagus. She was still small and not as imposing, but her Death Magic tied perfectly with her form. She could produce the terror that Grims were infamous for and get them to leave Bella alone.

With two terrified Aurors running back to join their teammates, Rhea could finally focus on Bella. Goddess! Remus and those bastards did a number on her as the damage became apparent once Bella shifted back to human form. The skin tight leather clothes Rhea commissioned for her were practically shredded, just barely keeping her modesty intact. Rhea didn't take any chances, she created a black cloud surrounding them both and shifted to human, placing herself against Bella's body. "Lean on me Bella. I got you. Let's get you out of the wards so we can get you treated." Bella just grunted as Rhea pulled her further into the Forbidden Forest. A few minutes into the Forest and Rhea sighed in relief as she felt the wards slip over their heads. One Portkey keychain later and the two Blacks were gone in a puff of smoke.

-ᛦ-

  
  


"Mom, Dad get Andy and Cissa quick! The Blasted Aurors did a number on Bella and I can't heal her and cleanse her at the same time!" The sound of their daughter's voice echoing through the house woke the two of them up from their restful sleep. Sabrina made a few Transfigurations to keep themselves decent as they got down to the ground floor. Sabrina's breath got stuck in her throat. Rhea hadn't been kidding, it's a bloody miracle Bella's alive. She helped her daughter lower Bella down and Levitate her body towards the ritual chamber. It tended to double as a medical ward in emergencies and this certainly qualified. In the chamber mother and daughter were forced to strip Bella down completely to get to work on her without obstruction, Rhea peeling away layers of cursed damage from Remus' werewolf claws and Sabrina using spells to knit back the skin, arteries and veins. They hardly noticed as Andy joined them in the chamber, the latter getting out the potions they would need to get her sister back to health. 

Nymphadora was the last to arrive, having been called in her Auror capacity to comb the school. The Ministry at that point didn't care if the Black's got her, they just wanted to make sure Hogwarts was safe. She walked to the back of a tired Sirius sitting down in the family room. "How are they?" Sirius turned and smiled, "Aside from dead tired after 9 hours of healing, potions and diagnostics? They are good. Bella will have a few thin scars, but all will heal and there won't be any traces of Lycanthropy in her system. She's probably on some Dreamless Sleep as all our beloved ladies rest up. How was Hogwarts?" 

Dora shrugged. "Henry, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom are all in the Hospital Wing with bites on their ankles and scratches on their backs. Remus is confined to his cell in the Dungeons with a pissed off Snape as his jailor. James and most of the Aurors were sent to St. Mungos with deep scratches and bites, nothing major. 2 of the Aurors will need to spend time with a mind healer though. Something they encountered has got them spooked, leaping at shadows and everything. Last but not least, Dumbledore has called for calm. Lucius, with your vote, called for classes to be postponed for the next few days, with parents given permission to see their families. That should keep everyone busy while we get Aunt Bella up to snuff."

Sirius nodded. "All in all it could have been worse. Surprised about the wolves though. Rhea didn't say anything about how she got Bella out of the grounds." Sirius turned to her, "Anyone trying to blame the mess on Rhea?" Dora shook her head. "None of the investigators are. No one saw her be anywhere near the whole mess. Flitwick mentioned that he had informed Rhea that Bellatrix had been spotted in the premises and that she should go see her family in case something happened. That is the official notice on Rhea's whereabouts by her Head of House. I heard Henry blaming her for all that happened to them from the Hospital Wing, but that's all. Pomfrey then proceeded to feed Henry some Dreamless Sleep, to the relief of everyone stuck there."

Sirius chuckled, "Then Rhea did a spectacular job. Sure, we will eventually say Bella's with us but hopefully by then she won't be a Lestrange, but no one can pin this mess on anything Rhea did." Sirius' mood soured, "Though we will probably have to sack Remus. His contract made it clear he would be staying in his cage in every full moon, so tonight he broke contract, even if he wasn't a threat to anyone with the Wolfsbane Potion in his system." He sighed and Dora rubbed his back. "I know he was your friend, but he made his choices. Last night he made another one, and it will cost him. He can't say he wasn't warned." 

They hear the ritual chamber door open and see Andromeda walk out. She smiles at them. "Bella is still on the mend but we have confirmation on the contract being active. Sabrina had wanted to get the Ritual off on Beltane but no chance in the time we have her, she will start fighting us as soon as her body can try. Both Sabrina and Rhea are out for the rest of the day, so we need to be on shifts watching over Bella until we can get her cleaned out." Dora rushes over her mom to make sure she is okay as Sirius watches on. "We got Bella home, Arcturus. Just gotta make sure she stays home. Please, watch over her."

  
  


-ᛦ-

  
  


The ritual chamber settles, but Rhea doesn't stop staring at the raised dais where Bella remains chained down. She sighs, "That's every single cleansing ritual we know. How did they all fail to break the slave contract?" Sabrina comes around and hugs her from behind. "We've been at this for hours Rhea, let's get some rest and see if we can think of something else." Rhea nods begrudgingly and the two step out of the chamber and head for the kitchen. Kreacher places hot chocolate in front of both of them as they sit down, their thoughts still on Bella. When Bella had physically recovered, they had woken her up. Only, that had been a mistake.

Bella being in poor physical condition had been a factor for how the contract behaved. If she was weak and injured, the contract would relax it's terms, but once she was at tip top shape, it was all or nothing. It took Andromeda, Narcissa and Nymphadora all using overpowered stunners to knock her down. Rhea had felt disgusting when she tied Bella to the dais with magic dampening chains but it proved to be the only way to keep her contained. 4 days after she had been captured and fully healed and they still had only managed to remove her Dark Mark. Rhea settled her thoughts and drank from the hot chocolate.

At least the Ministry had backed off. They had tried to play some twisted logical loops to get Bella out of their custody. Thankfully having Amelia Bones, Alastor Moody and Lady Abbott, who held a high position in St. Mungos, pay a visit and confirm the existence of the slave contract on Bella had made the Wizengamot and the Ministry leave Bella as a House Black problem. Of course, not everyone wanted to let it go. James Potter was still calling for her head, as was Alice Longbottom. Augusta had been part of the initial moves against Bella's current custody, but Amelia deposited the diagnostics that confirmed the slave contract, as well as Rhea's diagnostic of the state Bella had been in just before Yule. The horror written down on the parchment was enough to make Madam Longbottom cool off. 

Sirius and much of the House of Black had wanted to use the health scan Rhea had done to investigate what was happening behind the walls of Azkaban but Rhea had told them all to wait. Bella had been the victim and it was her choice if she wanted to bring the criminals masquerading as guards to justice. She just had to get herself free of the contract to do that. At least Rhea's classmates and teachers were really supportive. She was getting notes on all the assignments she was missing in class and about news from the school, while Pomfrey got the health scan Rhea took once Bella was safely behind Grimmauld's wards. Andromeda was keeping Pomfrey updated on Rhea's continued work as a Healer. Though there was one class she currently didn't have to worry about.

DADA had been postponed indefinitely until a proper replacement for their professor had been found. The Board, including Sirius, had not taken Remus' moonlit jaunt well, regardless of the circumstances or James Potter's attempts to get his friend out of trouble. While he was in control of his faculties under the effects of the Wolfsbane Potion, he did break the contract he had agreed to by not being in his cell during the full moon. While Remus wouldn't suffer any other consequences for his actions, his employment at Hogwarts, or current lack of employment, was not negotiable. Also, there still remained some debate as to whether Lupin's presence had been the motivating factor for the wolf pack visiting the grounds that night. Had Lupin behaved like a professional towards Rhea and the other houses, she would have felt some guilt about that. Oh well.

Rhea and Sabrina's latest brainstorming session came to a screeching halt when Sirius barreled into the kitchen. "I found it! Bellatrix is no longer a Lestrange and we got the dowry back plus interest, and in the midst of the Lestrange Vault, the Goblins finally found the Slave Contract." He placed the parchment on the table. Rhea wrinkled her nose. Not parchment. This felt…wrong. "I think I am going to be sick!" She went straight to the sink and emptied out her stomach. Sirius, on the other hand, received a hard whack to the back of the head. "Dammit Sirius, we already discussed how these things are made! Rhea didn't need to have human leather and blood shoved in front of her face!" Sirius looked apologetic as Rhea heaved again. 

The few who were able to stomach being near the thing deciphered the legalese. Lucius huffed, "I knew Cygnus could be a bastard but to leave no exit clauses? For the first time I am glad my father was able to get me and Narcissa betrothed. This… is vile, even by Dark Faction standards." Sirius and the rest of the Black family looked on dejected. "So there is no way out for Bella?" Lucius sighed, "The contract binds her to Rodolphus Lestrange till death." Everyone else hung their head, until Rhea shot up from her seat. "That's it! That's how you break it!" Sirius looked at his daughter, "What do you mean? It's unbreakable! If you're thinking about temporarily killing Bella, trust me, it's been tried. It doesn't break like that."

Rhea looked insulted, "Of course that doesn't work, because the soul is still attached to the body. But if the soul enters the Veil, it should break the contract!" Everyone looked at her as if trying to figure out how that would even work. Sabrina catches on first. "True, that could work, but you haven't crossed the Veil on any night other than Samhain. We can't keep Bella chained in the basement till then!" Rhea looked smug until Sabrina's eyes narrowed at her. "Rhea, what did you do?" Rhea turns shy all of a sudden. Sabrina, fearing what could happen to her girl, snaps, "Rheannon, what did you do?"

"Yaip!" Rhea suddenly shifts into her small Grim form and jumps into her dad's lap. Sabrina slaps her hand to her mouth. Sirius pets his daughter's quacking body. "It's ok pup, your mom is just worried that you could be hurting yourself. You need to understand, we aren't supposed to cross the Veil until we die. Don't be scared. She didn't mean to yell." Sabrina walks up to Sirius and Rhea and sits on her knees. "Rhea honey, I'm so sorry. I…don't know what came over me. I promise I won't yell again, but you can't keep secrets like that from us. For those who aren't Necromancers what you do can be terrifying. So please, tell me you weren't hurting yourself." The pup shot from Sirius' lap and shifted into Rhea before hugging her mom. 

"I'm sorry. It was just something I'd do without realizing it. I didn't think it was all that important!" It takes a few moments for Rhea to settle down, though the moment does remind the family that while Rhea is mature for her age, she is still only 13 years old. For all the Healing she can do and the advanced magic she can cast without so much of a thought, she still has a lot to learn about people. Rhea steels her back and continues on. "I can make trips into the Veil. Usually it's in passing, like a Necromancer's apparition. It's unblockable and I can technically be anywhere I have seen. But I can also go through but not have a point of exit in mind. When I do that, I am very much in the Veil." 

She looks around the room who are all stunned by what she just admitted to. "I've never taken anyone with me, so I don't know exactly what can happen, but I think that as long as I hold onto them they should be fine and if they're in the Veil with me for too long, anything tied to their life should snap. I think I can break Bella out of her contract, if I take her with me through to the Veil."

-ᛦ-

  
  


Hugging her parents dearly, Rhea prepared to take Bella into the void. Despite how her mom got so scary in her eyes, she couldn't stop loving her. That thought really bothered her and it was something she'd have to talk to both Mom and Andy about, but that could wait. Bella needs her right now. Despite everyone being nervous about it, they all thought about giving Rhea's plan a try. Mom had taken Nyx with her for a moment, which really made her worried, but Nyx assured her everything was fine. Her Mom really loved her and was just worried about her. Eventually they pulled the chains from Bella's body, gave her a potion that would wake her slowly and all stood back as Rhea hugged Bella from behind. She looked at her parents in the eyes, "love you Mom, love you Dad. I'll be back soon." With those words, Rhea and Bella vanished from Grimmauld Place. 

Rhea had to breathe harder now. She looked around at the endless black void filled with a rushing wind, her eyes wide. Was this the Veil? But she'd never been to a place like this. Everytime she crossed the Veil, it looked … Rhea closed her eyes. Everytime Rhea crossed the Veil before she did it alone. Maybe her view of the Veil would always be different from everyone elses and what she saw now was the Veil as it is for others. Rhea sighed. She probably won't be here then. Rhea noticed that Bella began to wake up, and started to fight. "Please Bella, just hold a bit here with me. I promise, Andy, Cissa and Siri are waiting for you." Bella stilled and looked around, "Did I…am I dead?" 

Choosing her words carefully, Rhea answered her, "Yes and no? This is the Veil, or at least I think it is. We failed at breaking your contract the old fashioned way and this looked the most promising. Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself properly. Rheannon Sabrina Black, burgeoning Necromancer at your service! A pleasure to meet you Bella. Would you prefer Cousin Bella or Aunt Bella?" A few seconds ticked in the void before Bella snickered and then started laughing. "We are supposedly in the Veil between the world of the living and the dead and you're worried about what to call me?" Rhea smiled into her curly hair. "Of course!" Bella shook her head, "Aunt Bella then." She looked around the black void. "I thought about death a lot the last 12 years. I welcomed it then."

Rhea hugged her tighter, "So did I. For 7 years, it felt like the one thing that would finally give me what I wanted." The two slipped into silence and Rhea could feel the contract tethers snapping from within Bella. She'd be free soon. "But then I met Mom and Dad, Aunt Andi, Aunt Cissa, Cousin Dora and Cousin Draco. That's when I realized that Death could give me a lot of things. But not this. Never this." Rhea felt tears land on her arms wrapped around Bella's waist. Bella spoke after a while, "They are all back there? Waiting for me?" Rhea nodded against her head as she felt the last piece of the contract snap apart. Bella must have felt it too. "So, home?" Rhea smiled, "Yeah, let's go home."

Bella closed her eyes as she felt the magic swirl around her. It felt cold like the Dementors, but not suffocating or terrifying. It felt peaceful. Bella wondered how much that was her mind's twisted views on death or her newly named niece's presence behind her. From the moment she had met the girl, it had been one surprise after the other. She had known what was done to her in Azkaban but she hadn't pitied her. Rhea had focused on her wellbeing. And here they were now, leaving the Veil between the realms of the Living and the Dead because the girl wouldn't keep her secret of being a Necromancer from getting in the way of helping her family. Bella believed the Black's were fortunate for such a kind soul being amongst their ranks.

Eventually the magic that brought a feeling of cold numbness into her body began to fade away and Bella dared to open her eyes. Tears began to flood them instantly. "Cissy, Andy!" Bella threw herself into her sister's open arms and hugged them back. She could hear her sisters crying with her. She didn't know how long they just sat there, safe in the knowledge they were together again. Bella didn't want it to end. Only her stomach decided to remind her it's probably been a few days since she ate. The laughter it drew from her family warmed her heart. Her sisters pulled back and she looked around the room, recognizing it as the ritual chamber in Grimmauld Place. She saw a man she felt was probably Andy's husband standing back with a girl whose hair kept shifting through a myriad of bright colors and standing just besides them was a man who could only be Lucius Malfoy. No one else but a Malfoy could manage blonde hair like that.

Her eyes finally settled on a couple clearly trying to hug the stuffing out of their daughter. The woman's bronze hair was beautiful, her olive skin a distinct shade and she had the prettiest sapphire eyes. But it was the man hugging her and her newly named niece that caught her attention. No other Black could sport that much of a mane of curly hair and make it look as good. The energy around him and swirling around his ladies made it clear who he was. No Black could miss it. "My Lord Black, a daughter of House Black seeks Sanctuary amongst the Family." Sirius smiled, "It's Sirius or Siri to you, cousin. The Lord…" he looks at his fiancée who smiles and kisses him on the cheek, "… and future Lady Black both happily grant you Sanctuary. Welcome home, Bellatrix Black. You are amongst family again." Bella watched Sirius stand in front of her and pull her into a hug. She hugged him back as she felt the Family Magicks settle back into her. She was home. After 12 long years, she was finally home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the Blacks are all finally together. Did you like it? The scenes of the Veil will become more frequent as Rhea stretches out her wings. Hope you all are still with me and looking forward to what's next.
> 
> Next Chapter? The fallout, last days of Year 3, and some family business.


End file.
